US – On February 12, 2026, the Donald Trump administration formally revoked a foundational scientific finding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has underpinned U.S. climate policy for nearly two decades, the 2009 endangerment finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health and welfare.

President Trump, accompanied by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin at the White House, described the repeal as the “single largest deregulatory action in American history,” claiming it would relieve economic burdens and save trillions in compliance costs. Trump dismissed the science as “a scam” and explicitly rejected the link between climate change and public health harm during the announcement.

Yet, thousands of scientific studies, including the most recent peer-reviewed research, overwhelmingly show that climate change is already exacting a measurable toll on human health, from heat-related deaths to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, and that these trends will worsen absent urgent mitigation and adaptation.

The Endangerment Finding: What It Was And Why Its Repeal Matters.

The 2009 endangerment finding, adopted under the Obama administration after the landmark 2007 Supreme Court ruling Massachusetts v. EPA, concluded that six greenhouse gases, including CO₂ and methane, endanger public health and welfare because of their role in warming the planet.

For years, that conclusion served as the legal basis for federal regulations on vehicle emissions, power plants, and other polluters, enabling decades-long progress in reducing U.S. carbon pollution and improving air quality. Its repeal jeopardises that regulatory framework, opening the door to legal uncertainty and fracturing standards across states and sectors.

While the administration frames the repeal as a boon for economic growth, critics warn it undermines public health protections and ignores well-established science, at a moment when climate-related deaths and illnesses are climbing sharply.

Climate Change Isn’t Distant, It’s Harmful Now:

Heat-Related Mortality Is Surging:

Recent research shows heat-related deaths in the United States have doubled since 1999, reaching a record 2,325 in 2023, according to a study in JAMA. Extreme heat is now linked to tens of thousands of excess deaths annually from cardiovascular disease, dehydration, and heatstroke, disproportionately affecting older adults and communities of colour.

A 2021 study in Nature Climate Change examined 732 locations in 43 countries, including 210 U.S. cities, finding that over a third of heat deaths are due to human-caused climate change, resulting in over 9,700 global deaths per year. A new study in Texas revealed that 2.2% of summer deaths from 2010 to 2023 were heat-related, directly tied to rising temperatures.

Experts warn that heat stress compounds cardiovascular and respiratory risks, while projections indicate these deaths could more than double by mid-century without emissions cuts and adaptation measures.

Beyond Heat: A Broader Health Burden.

Climate change affects health in numerous ways:

• Respiratory disease: Longer wildfire seasons and increased ozone pollution exacerbate asthma and chronic lung conditions.
• Vector-borne illnesses: Dengue, malaria, and other diseases are spreading as warming expands mosquito habitats.
• Mental health impacts: Anxiety, depression, and trauma rise in communities affected by extreme weather events.
• Global fatalities: Research across Europe and North America estimates tens of thousands of additional deaths in recent summers directly attributable to human-caused warming.

Dr. Howard Frumkin, physician and professor emeritus of public health at the University of Washington, emphasises:

“Study after study documents that climate change endangers health, for one simple reason: it’s true. Rescinding the endangerment finding is akin to insisting the world is flat or denying gravity.”

Dr. Jonathan Patz, director of the Centre for Health, Energy and Environmental Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, adds:

“The 2021 heat dome in the Northwest killed over 600 people. Attribution studies show that the event was made 150 times more likely due to human-caused climate change.”

Voices From The Frontlines:

Dr. Maria Hernandez, an emergency physician in Phoenix, reports:

“Every summer, dozens of patients come in with heat stroke, dehydration, and heart attacks. This isn’t some distant problem; it’s happening here, every year.”

Public health nurse Tariq Ali in Florida adds:

“Asthma cases spike every summer due to longer ozone seasons and wildfire smoke. Children and the elderly are the first to suffer; it’s a human health crisis we can’t ignore.”

Scientific Consensus Vs. Political Denial:

The overwhelming scientific consensus, reflected in more than 29,000 peer-reviewed studies on climate and health, is that climate change endangers public health now, not sometime in the distant future. More than 60% of these studies have been published in the last five years alone.

Trump’s rejection of science mirrors his administration’s U.S. stance in international climate forums, urging nations to oppose stronger global action on emissions and reparations for climate harm.

Dr. Michael Mann, climatologist and IPCC lead author, warns:

“Trump’s repeal doesn’t change the physics of climate. Heatwaves, wildfires, and storms are killing people right now. Ignoring this is not just irresponsible, it’s deadly.”

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist, adds:

“We’re seeing impacts in every corner of the globe. Climate change is a public health emergency, and reversing EPA protections is a step backwards for the most vulnerable communities.”

Activists And Public Figures Speak Out:

Sir David Attenborough has repeatedly stressed the urgency:

“Rising temperatures, dying ecosystems, floods and droughts, these are not distant warnings; they are happening now. Human health is inseparable from the health of our planet.”

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg condemned the repeal, calling it:

“A reckless decision that puts profits over people. Children, the poor, and frontline communities will pay the price.”

WHO, WWF, and Greenpeace all echo these warnings, emphasising that climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths annually and is accelerating worldwide.

The Legal And Global Fallout:

The repeal does not halt climate change, but it reshapes U.S. policy and global leadership:

• Legal challenges: Multiple states and environmental groups are preparing lawsuits, arguing the repeal violates federal public welfare mandates under the Clean Air Act.
• Regulatory fragmentation: Without a federal baseline, companies could face inconsistent greenhouse gas standards across states, complicating compliance.
• Global influence: U.S. leadership is weakened at a time when multilateral climate agreements require accountability and cooperation.

Analyses suggest unmitigated climate change, through extreme heatwaves, wildfires, storms, crop failures, and disease, could cost trillions and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable populations.

Conclusion: Time For Accountability, Science And Society Demand Action.

The Trump administration’s repeal of the EPA’s climate endangerment finding is not just a domestic policy shift; it is a direct affront to science, public health, and the planet. By calling climate science a “scam,” the administration ignores the mounting evidence documented in thousands of peer-reviewed studies: heatwaves killing thousands, wildfires poisoning the air, vector-borne diseases spreading faster, and extreme weather displacing millions.

Global leaders, scientists, and activists are unanimous: climate change is already a public health emergency. As Sir David Attenborough has repeatedly warned, “If we can do something about it, then do it. We can do it. We must do it.” Ignoring these warnings does not slow the warming planet; it accelerates the crisis and guarantees that the most vulnerable, the poor, the elderly, and marginalised communities will pay the highest price.

The repeal also hands a green light to corporate conglomerates, removing legal constraints on polluting industries and enabling the unchecked extraction of natural resources. Fossil fuel companies, mining corporations, and industrial giants now have the opportunity to plunder the environment and profit from the destruction of ecosystems, further intensifying climate change and its human toll. As Dr. Howard Frumkin warns, “The consequences of deregulation are not hypothetical; they are immediate. Every ton of carbon emitted, every wetland destroyed, every forest cleared translates directly into sickness, death, and displacement.”

Legally and globally, the repeal destabilises U.S. leadership, threatens climate accords, and fractures environmental protections across states and sectors. Yet courts, states, cities, businesses, and civil society are mobilising to resist. Dr. Jonathan Patz emphasises: “The heat, the storms, the fires, these are not abstract future threats. They are happening now, and every delay increases the human cost.”

This is a decisive moment. Science, morality, and common sense converge: climate change is real, it is deadly, and the time for decisive, systemic action, cutting emissions, protecting vulnerable communities, electrifying energy, and holding corporate polluters accountable, is now. Anything less is a surrender to preventable disaster, with consequences measured in lives, livelihoods, and the irreparable loss of our planet’s natural wealth.