Washington (United States) (AFP) - President Donald Trump plans to repeal this Thursday a text that serves as the basis for the fight against greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, a radical change that scientists and environmental defenders oppose.
First modification: 02/12/2026 - 11:49 Last modification: 02/12/2026 - 11:56
This change of course, which will most likely be challenged in court, will be a severe blow to climate action in the North American country, the main historical emitter of polluting substances.
"This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history and will save the American people $1.3 trillion in suffocating regulations," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated on Tuesday.
Trump is scheduled to announce the measure this Thursday with Lee Zeldin, director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Called the "Hazard Determination," the base text was initially adopted in 2009 by the EPA, under the presidency of Democrat Barack Obama.
It states that six greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide and methane — are harmful to health and therefore fall within the scope of pollutants regulated by the federal agency.
The text legally paved the way for numerous regulations aimed at limiting emissions of these substances, starting with emissions from trucks and cars.
Its repeal will therefore eliminate the authority that the EPA relied on to promulgate those regulations and will allow the Trump administration to more easily repeal them.
This Thursday's announcement is also expected to be accompanied by the removal of greenhouse gas emissions standards for automobiles.
A great defender of oil and coal, Trump has reversed course on climate issues since his return to power in January 2025, multiplying measures in favor of the fossil energy industry.
Announced in July, its desire to repeal the 2009 text has sparked the indignation of numerous scientists and environmental organizations.
"The scientific evidence regarding human-caused climate change and its consequences was unequivocal in 2009 and, since then, has become even more alarming and convincing," more than 1,000 experts recalled then in a public letter.
© 2026 AFP
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