California, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York are leading a group of 20 other states in suing the US Environmental Protection Agency for renouncing its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, The New York Times reports. The lawsuit specifically argues that the EPA's decision to rescind a 2009 study that determined greenhouse gases are dangerous to public health was illegal. The study, which is the source of what's called the "Endangerment Finding," was one of several justifications — along with things like the Clean Air Act — for the agency's ability to regulate emissions.

Rescinding the finding nullified the EPA's evidence for things like emissions standards and a variety of other regulations that attempted to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the automotive, coal and oil industries. The Trump administration framed the rollback as a cost-saving measure, but it was also a major blow to the government's ability to fight climate change. Greenhouse gases, which include things like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, collect in the atmosphere and warm the planet, upsetting weather patterns and negatively impacting the environment. Determining the changes caused by greenhouse gases posed a risk to public health gave the EPA the authority to regulate them under its existing mandate to address air pollution. An authority it could have again, depending on the result of this litigation.

Of course, winning a lawsuit isn't necessary to restore the EPA's role in fighting climate change. Congress could do that now by passing a new law. The legal route is just faster, and potentially riskier. The New York Times writes that this new lawsuit was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and could ultimately be combined with an existing lawsuit from environmental groups. Depending on how the case fairs in the lower court, it may eventually be appealed to the US Supreme Court, who could decide on an even more restrictive interpretation of the EPA's role. 

Under President Donald Trump, the EPA has already rolled back clean water rules and attempted to stifle research. The Trump administration has separately tried to undermine the authority of independent agencies like the EPA and FTC, something the Supreme Court has yet to determine to be illegal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/states-are-suing-the-epa-for-relinquishing-its-role-as-a-greenhouse-gas-emissions-regulator-221425064.html?src=rss

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In a new executive order, President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will withdraw from 66 international organizations and bodies, including several focused on tackling climate change. Trump made his disregard for climate change clear when he withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement for a second time in early 2025, but these new withdrawals further confirm the second Trump administration is against global collaboration in general.

Among the organizations targeted, the US will no longer participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and organizations focused on trade, conservation, reproductive rights and immigration, like International Trade Centre, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the UN Population Fund and the Global Forum on Migration and Development. In the case of the United Nations-affiliated organizations, the US ending its participation also means withdrawing funding.

According to the White House, the organizations the US is leaving "promote radical climate policies, global governance and ideological programs that conflict with US sovereignty and economic strength." Withdrawing is supposed to save taxpayers money, though the White House's fact sheet on the executive order neglects to say how much will be saved or how that saved money will be spent now that it's not supporting the United Nations.

"By withdrawing from the IPCC, UNFCCC, and the other vital international partnerships, the Trump administration is undoing decades of hard-won diplomacy, attempting to undermine climate science and sowing distrust around the world," Former Vice President Al Gore said in a statement responding to the executive order.

While losing financial backing likely doesn't help anyone, the actual impact of the US'sdec withdrawals is a bit of an unknown, The Washington Post reports. For example, the US remains involved with the International Energy Agency, which works on global clean energy solutions. Also, many of the organizations the White House decided to exit were deliberative bodies, or ones that the US was only marginally involved in, according to a UN official The Post spoke to.

Directly pushing back against global organizations and regulation has been a consistent theme of the second Trump administration, particularly in regards to tech regulation. The US withdrew from trade talks with Canada in June 2025 over the country's digital services tax, and just last month the US banned former EU commissioner Thierry Breton from entering the US for his role in the creation of the Digital Services Act.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-us-withdraws-from-dozens-of-international-bodies-including-climate-focused-organizations-195259578.html?src=rss

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