Client Alert: EPA Repeals GHG Endangerment Finding & Removes Basis for Federal GHG Regulation

Written by Kimberley Hale, Max Zygmont, and Andrea Hartung

On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has finalized the repeal of the agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding, which had found that six greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride—may endanger public health and welfare. In adopting the repeal, EPA concluded that Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act does not authorize the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions for the purpose of addressing global climate change concerns. As a result of the repeal, vehicle emission standards that were premised on the Endangerment Finding have also been withdrawn. And those vehicle emission standards had been the premise for EPA’s imposition of greenhouse gas emission standards on stationary sources, as well. The repeal is expected to face litigation so the long-term regulatory consequences of the repeal remain uncertain.

For regulated entities, the repeal may result in near-term changes to certain federal greenhouse gas compliance obligations, while also introducing legal and regulatory uncertainty. Because the rule is expected to be challenged, companies should continue to monitor litigation developments and assess potential impacts to long term planning. Items of particular note include whether the D.C. Circuit will stay the repeal during litigation, implications for state-level greenhouse gas programs, and the influence that considerations relevant to future regulatory action and/or enforcement priorities could have on strategic timing of projects involving potential emission increases.