ICCR Statement in Response to the Overturning of the Endangerment Finding
On February 12, 2026 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially rescinded the Endangerment Finding, which dates back to 2009 and has underpinned the ability of the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, vehicles, and other heavy emitters. This action will severely compromise the federal government’s ability to respond to the threat of climate change.
In response to the Trump administration’s decision, Erica Lasdon, Director for Climate and Environmental Justice at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), issued the following statement:
“This latest policy move by the administration is wrongheaded and profoundly harmful. For more than 16 years and across multiple administrations, the Endangerment Finding has safeguarded public health and contributed to a solid foundation for the innovations necessary to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. On its own, this was not enough to position the United States for leadership in the global response to the climate crisis. But without this crucial guardrail, millions of Americans from Peoria to Pasadena will suffer the health and economic consequences of dirtier air and a weak national response to climate change –all while our country’s economic edge and moral standing continue to erode under the weight of shortsighted and irrational decision-making by the federal government.
At ICCR, we understand the sacred responsibility of disciplined environmental stewardship. We also appreciate the importance of policy certainty for the wider economy and the potential damage that can occur from governments more beholden to big donors than science and rational economics. The human and environmental impacts of this policy decision will be fatal and severe. The economic toll will also be profound, and most investors will struggle to find the coherence and stability they need to allocate their capital strategically and for long-term prosperity. From a moral, public policy and economic perspective, scrapping the Endangerment Finding is a massive step backwards.
We will continue to work with our partners and policymakers to sound the alarm on the economic costs of ignoring climate risk and the vast potential in building and investing in a greener future. We will also encourage business leaders to remember the ways they adhered to and even thrived under the public safety standards first established by the Endangerment Finding. The administration has undermined a secure environmental and economic future with this action, but the rest of us don’t have to do the same.”
