Zeldin tells climate skeptics to ‘celebrate’ endangerment finding repeal

EPA Administrator Celebrates Repeal of Climate Change Regulation at Skeptics Conference

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended his controversial decision to repeal the 2009 “endangerment finding” during a keynote address at a Heartland Institute conference, telling the audience of climate change skeptics to “celebrate vindication.”

“Today is a moment to celebrate. It is a day to celebrate vindication,” said Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York who is rumored to be under consideration for attorney general following Pam Bondi’s recent forced departure.

The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year revoked the endangerment finding, a scientific conclusion that for 16 years served as the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, vehicles, and other sources. The Trump administration has argued that the finding harms industry and the economy, claiming that previous administrations distorted scientific evidence to classify greenhouse gases as a public health risk.

Zeldin’s appearance at a conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank known for rejecting mainstream climate science, highlights the dramatic policy reversal under the Trump administration. The EPA has rolled back numerous air and water protections and has stated it lacks legal authority to regulate climate change.

“You were right there on the front lines against there being an endangerment finding in 2009,” Zeldin told attendees at the Heartland conference.

Environmental advocates swiftly condemned Zeldin’s appearance. Joe Bonfiglio, U.S. director of the Environmental Defense Fund, accused the administrator of “promoting disinformation” and doing the bidding of Heartland’s secretive donors.

“The Heartland Institute is not a serious scientific organization. It’s a disinformation factory,” Bonfiglio said. “Having the EPA administrator serve as their opening act isn’t just embarrassing — it’s a signal of how completely the Trump administration has abandoned its obligation to protect the public from pollution.”

EPA spokesperson Carolyn Holran dismissed this criticism, stating that “the era of EPA as a vehicle for radical ideology is over.” Holran added that Zeldin speaks to “a wide variety of ideologically different groups” to advance the Trump EPA’s agenda, which she characterized as focused on protecting human health and the environment “backed by gold standard science, not doomsday models designed to scare the public into compliance.”

The Illinois-based Heartland Institute describes itself as a “free-market think tank” with a mission to “challenge the narrative that the world faces a climate crisis” caused by fossil fuel combustion. While the organization does not disclose its funding sources, reports indicate it has received financial support from oil and gas interests. Its president, James Taylor, praised Zeldin’s speech and called him “the greatest EPA administrator ever.”

The 2009 endangerment finding determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. This Obama-era determination has been the legal foundation for nearly all climate regulations under the Clean Air Act, governing pollution standards for vehicles, power plants, and other emission sources.

The repeal eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could trigger a broader dismantling of climate regulations for stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities. Nearly two dozen states, along with cities and environmental groups, have filed legal challenges against the repeal.

Bonfiglio described Zeldin’s speech as “surreal,” saying it was tone-deaf and insulting to Americans facing rising energy costs and increasingly extreme weather events, such as the recent heat dome that baked the Southwest and broke March heat records in 14 states.

“The Heartland Institute and its supporters don’t want you to look out the window,” Bonfiglio said. “They actually need you to not look out the window in order to defend their positions. A core to their belief is that climate change is not a threat.”

The EPA’s policy shift represents one of the most significant reversals of environmental regulation in decades, with potential long-term implications for U.S. climate policy and the nation’s ability to meet international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.