Change the Chamber to the EPA: “Our lives are worth more than corporate profits!”
By The National Climate Fellows at Change the Chamber, January 14, 2026
The EPA’s latest move puts corporate profits ahead of public health, ignoring the real dangers of air pollution. Children, seniors, and frontline communities are left to bear the brunt while the agency counts dollars, not lives. This is a crisis we cannot—and will not—accept. (Full statement below.)
Source: AZCentral.com
Change the Chamber is appalled at the EPA’s recent announcement that it will no longer consider the costs of public health or human lives when creating cost-benefit analyses for new air pollution regulations. The current Administration’s EPA is the first to assign health benefits of “zero” to its cost-benefit analyses, directly contradicting the agency’s intended purpose to protect public health and our environment, and instead making it clear that this administration is putting the interests of profit over the health of everyday Americans.
Additionally, the US Chamber of Commerce agreed with the EPA’s decision to evaluate health and lives at a cost benefit of zero–due to uncertainty of measurements, stating “We appreciate the efforts of this administration to rebalance regulations with a common-sense approach.” This shows a preference towards continued quarterly growth of companies at the expense of communities dealing with air pollution, instead of a balance and economic practices that benefit all.
For decades, the EPA has relied on well-established science paired with public health data to evaluate the benefits of reducing deadly air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), methane and ozone. These analyses have consistently proven that clean air standards prevent premature deaths, reduce asthma attacks, protect overall respiratory health, and promote healthier lives. Choosing to assign a value of zero to these benefits does not reflect uncertainty, it reflects a conscious policy choice to ignore the real and measurable harm caused by pollution.
PM2.5 and ozone are among the most widespread and dangerous air pollutants in the United States, with children, seniors, low-income communities, and communities of color bearing the greatest burden. At times when communities across the country are already grappling with climate-change driven heatwaves, wildfire smoke, flooding, landslides and worsening air quality, weakening clean air standards is a direct threat to public well-being. By refusing to acknowledge the monetized health benefits while continuing to tally compliance costs to industry, the EPA is stacking the deck in favor of polluters and making it easier to dismantle life-saving protections. In what world do we count dollars but refuse to count lives
Change the Chamber rejects the false narrative that is implied by these actions that protecting public health and supporting the stability of industry and the economy are competing goals. Erasing human lives from the equation is not a technical adjustment or barrier to overcome: it is a moral failure.
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!