Rep. Mike Levin Leads California Democratic Congressional Delegation in Urging EPA to Maintain Policy to Combat Climate Pollution
The Endangerment Finding of 2009 is the Foundation for Tackling Climate Change; EPA Aims to Dismantle Bedrock Policy
Washington D.C.— Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Vice Chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), led 44 members of California’s Democratic Congressional Delegation in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling on the agency to maintain its Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases. The Endangerment Finding, signed in 2009, establishes that greenhouse gas emissions are a main driver of climate pollution, acknowledges the dangers of climate change, and is the legal foundation that allows the EPA to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment. The Trump EPA aims to dismantle this foundational protection, and if the agency is successful, it would threaten years of progress made on combatting pollution and climate change.
Read the full letter here.
This letter is signed by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and U.S. Representatives Maxine Waters (CA-43), Mark Takano (CA-41), John Garamendi (CA-08), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Scott Peters (CA-50), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Dave Min (CA-47), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (CA-31), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Ami Bera (CA-06), Derek Tran (CA-45), Jim Costa (CA-21), Luz M. Rivas (CA-29), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Judy Chu (CA-28), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Ted Lieu (CA-36), George Whitesides (CA-27), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Josh Harder (CA-09), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), and Norma Torres (CA-35).
Read the full letter below:
Dear Administrator Zeldin:
We are deeply concerned about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding and what that will mean for California and our constituents’ health and safety.
The Endangerment Finding requires the EPA to protect people from the pollution that causes climate change. Denying the danger cannot change the facts: pollution from fossil fuels is heating our planet, making extreme weather disasters more severe, and costing us all, especially the most vulnerable.
It is well documented how climate change fuels extreme weather. Rising global temperatures due to climate change contribute to stronger hurricanes, more intense wildfires, and more extreme heat, among other impacts. The threats have never been more dire or clearer to communities across the country, including our constituents.
Climate change is making wildfires more dangerous in California and across the Western United States. Hotter, drier weather and more intense droughts – all associated with climate change – along with a longer fire season are driving up wildfire risk. Research estimates that an average yearly 1°C (1.8°F) temperature increase would mean an up to 600% rise in median burned area per year.
This year started off with wildfires tearing through the city of Los Angeles, fueled by the driest start to the wet season on record with no measurable precipitation, combined with parched, flammable vegetation buildup and near-record wind speeds—conditions all made worse by a changing climate. The fires burned for 24 days over 37,000 acres, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, most of them homes, and killed at least 29 people. Some residents returned to see just smoldering rubble remaining of their homes. Across the city, exposure to dangerous toxins in the air, water, and soil and their health impacts remains a serious concern. Because of these fires and increased risk of future climate-fueled catastrophes, home and renters’ insurance rates are skyrocketing across the state.
The estimated damages from the Los Angeles fires are over $100 billion, as support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lags and President Trump and Congressional Republicans try to condition disaster aid. Costly natural disasters like these fires will continue growing worse with climate change, endangering lives, properties, and communities.
Across the country, and especially for the people we represent in California, climate change is not a theoretical harm—our constituents are living it every day in the contaminated air they breathe, the sea level rise eroding their coastlines, and the increased costs they must pay. The Endangerment Finding is an essential tool in the federal toolbox for protecting the health and welfare of the people of California.
By proposing to repeal the Endangerment Finding, the administration aims to undermine other protections against climate pollution: clean car and truck standards, power plant rules, oil and gas rules, landfill rules, and more. It means giving polluters a free pass to pollute at the expense of families across the country. It means our constituents will face more climate chaos and more pollution, especially in communities already overburdened by pollution, more health harms, and higher costs.
We urge you to maintain the Endangerment Finding and protect the health and welfare of Californians and communities all across the country.
###