A Dangerous Retreat from Science: CTC Condemns EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal
By The National Climate Fellows at Change the Chamber, February 12, 2026
The EPA just erased a cornerstone climate safeguard, brushing aside established science and weakening limits on pollution. The result? More risk, more disasters, and a heavier burden on the next generation. (Full statement below.)
Change the Chamber, a nonpartisan, youth climate coalition, is deeply alarmed and displeased by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rescission of its endangerment finding. This decision undermines the legal and scientific foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions, threatening our health, our economy, and our collective future.
Rescinding the EPA’s finding that greenhouse gases and climate change threaten public welfare is an outright assault on a plethora of basic scientific facts that have been upheld by decades of precedent in the courts, scientific literature, and federal policy. The decision to revoke this finding was based on the actions and publications of the Trump Administration's Climate Working Group (CWG)—a heavily biased collection of climate skeptics that the courts recently determined was engaged in illegal conduct.
The consequences of this reversal are not theoretical–they are painful realities. Millions of Americans are already suffering from the effects of extreme heat, wildfire smoke, severe storms, and rising insurance costs, with some insurers withdrawing coverage altogether. The endangerment finding has long served to protect the public; removing it weakens our ability to respond to climate threats at a moment when those protections are needed most.
The endangerment finding is supported by an overwhelming body of peer-reviewed research. This reversal is not grounded in new science but in political pressure. It lacks any credible explanation, and leaves the public more vulnerable and less prepared for climate risks. Rejecting established evidence in favor of polluter profits sets a dangerous precedent, weakening protections beyond climate policy and eroding trust in the government.
As a coalition of young adults, we will experience the impacts of this decision for decades to come. The generations of today and tomorrow will grow up in a world of unabated greenhouse gas emissions wreaking havoc on their jobs, pocketbooks, healthcare, and housing, unless we continue to fervently oppose these decisions. We call for the EPA to support policy based on the well-established science that accurately portrays the harms of climate change. Every rollback of climate protections deepens the challenges young people will inherit. Our actions today must honor our responsibility to those who come after us. Change the Chamber will continue to push for climate action that accurately reflects the impact of climate change and protects our communities.
The National Climate Fellows at Change the Chamber
Change the Chamber is a nonpartisan coalition of young adults, 100+ student groups across the country, environmental justice and frontline community groups, and other allied organizations. To support our work, donate or join our efforts!