Coltura Statement on EPA Plans to Repeal the Endangerment Finding and Roll Back Tailpipe Emissions Standards

July 29, 2025

 

Today’s announcements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — its plan to repeal the Endangerment Finding and roll back national tailpipe emissions standards — represent an unprecedented rollback of climate and public health protections. These actions target the heart of U.S. climate progress: reducing harmful pollution from cars and trucks, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

The United States consumes more gasoline than any other country in the world — over 130 billion gallons annually, more than the next 10 countries combined. Tailpipe emissions from this gasoline use are a primary driver of climate change and a major source of harmful air pollution. According to the EPA, transportation accounts for over 40% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 30% nationally.

Gasoline tailpipe pollution contributes to smog, toxic air, and fine particulate matter that leads to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death — especially in frontline communities located near highways and freight corridors. In the U.S., more than 72 million people live near high-traffic roads and are disproportionately exposed to vehicle pollution.

The 2009 Endangerment Finding established that greenhouse gases, including those from vehicle tailpipes, endanger public health and welfare. Repealing it would remove the EPA’s legal authority — and responsibility — to limit climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. This is a blatant rejection of decades of scientific evidence and a green light for unchecked pollution.

Simultaneously, the EPA’s proposed rollback of tailpipe emissions standards will lock in higher gasoline consumption, discourage investment in electric vehicles, and shift even more burden onto the Americans already suffering the worst health impacts of pollution. It will reward automakers for continuing to prioritize oversized, inefficient vehicles over cleaner, more efficient models.

The consequences are not hypothetical. The average U.S. driver burns about 550 gallons of gasoline per year, but so-called "gasoline superusers" — the top 20% of drivers — consume over 1,000 gallons annually, often because they cannot afford newer or more efficient vehicles. These drivers — often in rural or underserved communities — spend thousands per year on fuel and face disproportionate health and financial burdens.

By weakening standards and repealing the Endangerment Finding, the federal government is siding with oil companies and polluters at the expense of everyday Americans. This will slow the transition to electric vehicles, increase household fuel costs, worsen air quality, and make it harder — if not impossible — for the U.S. to meet its climate targets.

Coltura’s mission is to accelerate the phase-out of gasoline and promote cleaner alternatives. These proposed rollbacks do exactly the opposite. We must be cutting gasoline use — not entrenching it for another generation.

We urge Congress, governors, and the public to speak out and take action. Now is the time to strengthen, not weaken, our commitment to clean air, climate stability, and equitable transportation.

The science is clear. The impacts are real. And the stakes have never been higher.

Contact:
Coltura Media Team
press@coltura.org
www.coltura.org