As we breathe, the Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) is backing an effort to repeal the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding – the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
That decision poses real danger. (Watch yourself!)
The EPA’s Endangerment Finding, originally established in 2009 after years of scientific analysis, was the legal conclusion that greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution endangers human health and welfare. In the US, the transportation sector emits the most GHGs, and communities living in the shadows of major transportation infrastructure stand to be most harmed by the repeal. As has been well documented, the burden from transportation pollution is not shared equally; low income communities and communities of color bear the brunt of the consequences, which include painful chronic illness and early death.
Under the Clean Air Act, the determination that GHGs are toxic to human health required the EPA to regulate those emissions, and basically say “Danger! Look out for harms here.” The finding established a new floor for environmental protection that the Trump Administration ripped out, leaving communities vulnerable to even more harm from GHGs and other emissions.
The Trump administration finalized its repeal in February 2026, stripping the legal basis for GHG standards across vehicles, power plants, and other sectors, and making future federal regulation of greenhouse gases far more difficult.
Despite the Trump Administration’s claim that the Endangerment Finding was based on false science (despite what this administration would like you to believe, climate change is actually real!) and causing undue burden to industry, this is untrue. The Endangerment Finding has long provided the baseline that manufacturers rely on to plan, invest, and compete. Repealing it removes the stability companies have been operating under for more than a decade.
For the heavy-duty trucking industry, that uncertainty shows up fast. Companies map product lines years in advance, commit billions to new platforms, and build supply chains around expected standards. When the rules are unclear, it becomes harder to make decisions, scale new technologies, and stay competitive. Investments slow, timelines shift, and projects already in motion start to stall.
It’s unclear what the Trump Administration actually wants to see as a result of repealing the Finding.
It also raises a clear disconnect. Many manufacturers have publicly committed to cleaner technologies and the transition to an electric fleet. Those commitments depend on a stable policy environment. Supporting repeal undercuts that foundation.
This goes beyond policy debates in Washington. It affects whether companies can move forward with confidence or are forced into a wait-and-see approach, which will 100% slow progress at a time when global competitors continue to invest and scale.
And the impact doesn’t stop there. The EPA’s own analysis has indicated that repeal could cost Americans as much as $180 billion over the next decade in fuel purchases, vehicle repair and maintenance, insurance, traffic congestion and noise. And additional costs stemming from reduced energy security, increased refueling time and lowered “drive value”, or costs associated with operating a vehicle.
Evidence makes clear that repealing the Endangerment Finding introduces uncertainty at a moment when the industry needs clarity to deliver and compete.
Put simply, it creates avoidable risk. It creates DANGER.
