4 Ways Clean Air Is Under Attack from Trump and Congressional Republicans

The air we breathe is under threat thanks to a wave of attacks on our clean air protections. Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have eroded decades of progress, weakening the policies and safeguards we rely on to keep our air safe.

For more than 50 years, Earthjustice has used the power of the law to fight for the fundamental right to breathe clean air. The latest attacks against this right are unlawful, and we won’t back down.

Here’s what’s at stake, how it could damage public health, and what we are doing to fight back.

Trucks drive along Interstate 80 on Feb. 18, 2014, in Berkeley, California. (Justin Sullivan)

1. Slashing efforts to clean up car and truck pollution

Emissions from gas-powered vehicles are the largest source of carbon pollution in the country. And tailpipe pollution isn’t just a climate threat, it’s a public health risk fueling asthma, heart disease, and respiratory harm. Under the Clean Air Act, states hold the authority to pass stronger car and truck tailpipe pollution standards than the federal government to protect their residents.

Last week, Senate Republicans used an unlawful maneuver to overturn strong standards that a dozen states have adopted to protect their residents. The three state standards under attack — the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, and the Heavy-duty Omnibus rule — can save thousands of lives a year from the heart and lung problems associated with tailpipe pollution. They also deliver billions in economic benefits and public health savings. In California alone, they’re slated to save the public an estimated $45 billion in health costs.

An electric vehicle charges at an EVgo fast charging station in Detroit, Nov. 16, 2022. (Paul Sancya / AP)

2. Freezing funds for EV charging stations across the nation

Despite the need to cut traffic pollution and modernize our transportation system, the Trump administration is withholding billions of dollars that Congress already allocated to build a national network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Earthjustice has moved to join a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.

A national charging network is essential to accelerating the transition to zero-emissions, electric vehicles — a transition that is already underway as more Americans choose electric cars and trucks. Investing in this infrastructure is not only critical to ending harmful tailpipe pollution, but also keeping the U.S. economy competitive as the rest of the world goes electric. That’s why Congress promised billions for states to build out this infrastructure.

By freezing the money, the Trump administration is stalling climate progress and violating several laws, including the Constitution, which gives Congress — not the White House or the executive branch — the power of the purse.

3. Letting thousands of the worst polluters turn off clean air protections

Congress just let thousands of top polluters turn off technologies that capture or limit some of the most dangerous air pollutants.

Some 1,800 industrial facilities — including chemical plants, refineries, and pesticide manufactures — will be allowed to reclassify themselves as “minor polluters.” That frees them from the obligation to monitor, control, or report the most dangerous emissions. The facilities can shut off controls for seven of the most hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, dioxins, and PCBs, which are linked to birth defects, developmental harm, and cancers. These chemicals accumulate in the body and pose severe risks to pregnant women, infants, and children.

Emissions from the Linden Cogeneration Plant is seen in Linden, New Jersey. (Kena Betancur / Getty Images)

4. Want to pollute? Just email the White House

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in April that companies can simply send an email to the Trump administration asking for permission to pollute on grounds of “national security.” Within weeks, Trump’s EPA granted exemptions to dozens of coal-fired power plants, allowing them to release more mercury, arsenic, and acid into our air. The administration is also considering granting exemptions to bypass clean air rules for eight additional polluting industries; rules that currently limit emissions of cancer-causing chemicals like ethylene oxide, chloroprene, and benzene.

The administration is using the “national security” excuse to stop the imminent retirement of a deadly coal plant in Michigan. According to the Clean Air Task Force’s Toll from Coal dashboard, the J.H. Campbell plant that the administration wants to extend is responsible for 44 premature deaths and 455 asthma attacks every year. On top of the drastic health consequences, customers in the region will also have to pay more on their utility bills to cover the costs to keep the plant operational.

We will defend the right to clean air

This nonsensical wave of clean air attacks means more unregulated deadly pollution, dirtier air, and worsening public health. It doesn’t make economic sense, it isn’t in line with the direction the rest of the world is moving to build the clean infrastructure of the future with better air, and it isn’t what voters wanted.

But this isn’t the first time Trump has tried to dismantle clean air protections. When the first Trump administration delayed critical clean air safeguards, courts found these moves unlawful thanks in part to lawsuits by Earthjustice, workers, and communities.

We’re ready to go back to court to stop this Trump administration from gutting needed health protections and to ensure everyone’s right to breathe clean air.