Green Junction - Updates on the Clean Air Act

In 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act required the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address greenhouse-gas emissions, since they constitute a grave threat to the public. Richard J. Lazarus, a Harvard Law School professor, called it “the most important environmental law case ever decided by the Court.” In 2009, this ruling led to the “endangerment finding,” the basis for federal regulations on carbon-based pollution as a means to address climate change and protect public health. In short, it established that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that requires regulations.

The US federal government has threatened to revoke the “endangerment finding,” currently aligning with the fossil fuel industry (increased subsidies) and distorting climate science. Reporter Elizabeth Kolbert clarified that “in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved by Congress, oil and gas companies received new or expanded tax incentives adding up to an estimated eighteen billion dollars.” This adds to the long-term subsidies that have boosted the industry for decades. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, subsidies for the fossil fuel industry in the United States in 2022 “included $3 billion in explicit subsidies and $754 billion in implicit subsidies.” Costly negative health impacts and environmental degradation are considered implicit subsidies. Meanwhile, incentives for clean energy have been cut.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns explained the debauched move of the Trump administration compared to the responsible international leadership in science and ethics. “The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a groundbreaking opinion declaring that nations are legally obligated to reduce emissions, phase out fossil fuels, and protect vulnerable communities from climate harm. This momentous ruling affirms what faith communities have long believed: care for creation is a sacred responsibility and a matter of justice.  Yet here in the U.S., the Trump administration is attempting to strip away the very legal foundation for addressing climate change. The EPA has proposed rescinding the “endangerment finding,” the scientific and legal basis that affirms greenhouse gas emissions threaten human health. Without it, the U.S. could dismantle all existing limits on climate pollution from vehicles, power plants, and industry. This rollback denies science, silences responsibility, and directly contradicts the ICJ’s call to protect people and the planet through law.”

In early July, the Vatican news wrote, “Pope Leo XIV’s message for the Tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation urges Christians and all people of goodwill to recognize the urgent need for environmental and social justice in a world increasingly scarred by climate change, conflict, and inequality.”