{"id":25189,"date":"2025-11-24T11:14:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=25189"},"modified":"2025-11-24T17:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T22:39:00","slug":"overturning-the-endangerment-finding-would-mean-more-pollution-more-harm-higher-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2025\/11\/24\/overturning-the-endangerment-finding-would-mean-more-pollution-more-harm-higher-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Overturning the Endangerment Finding would mean more pollution, more harm, higher costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have seen the new study<\/a> by the National Bureau of Economic Research \u2013 or, more likely, the New York Times story<\/a> about it \u2013 that shows American homeowners are facing substantial and rapidly-rising home insurance premiums due to harms from climate-fueled extreme weather events.<\/p>\n

The New York Times story, which includes state-by-state analysis, finds that rising premiums are placing severe financial burdens on Americans \u2013 doubling home insurance costs in some areas over the last several years, lowering home values by tens of thousands of dollars, and making it impossible for some Americans to purchase insurance at all.<\/p>\n

This new reporting adds to a large and growing body of evidence showing that climate change is straining insurance,<\/a> housing<\/a>, and banking<\/a> systems, and in turn posing financial risks to communities across the country.<\/p>\n

At the same time Americans are facing these extensive and rising costs, the Trump administration has proposed to rescind<\/a> EPA\u2019s foundational Endangerment Finding<\/a> \u2013 the bedrock determination that climate pollution harms public health and welfare \u2013 along with all of the climate pollution standards for motor vehicles that EPA has ever adopted. These reckless and deeply damaging actions will mean more<\/em><\/strong> pollution that is fueling extreme weather events, and thus even higher<\/em><\/strong> costs for Americans who are already facing runaway increases in home insurance premiums.<\/p>\n

More pollution, more harm, higher costs<\/strong><\/p>\n

EDF\u2019s analysis<\/a> found that the Trump EPA\u2019s proposed repeal of the Endangerment Finding and motor vehicle standards would result in as much as 18 billion more tons of climate-altering pollution <\/strong>as the cumulative emissions released mount over time. That\u2019s the equivalent of three times<\/strong> the annual U.S. emissions today and would impose up to $3.9 trillion in climate harms on society.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Americans filed comments with EPA expressing strong opposition to the administration\u2019s proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding and the motor vehicle standards. Many of those comments underscored how it would only worsen the already high costs they are now suffering \u2014 including by raising insurance premiums.<\/p>\n

Local, state, and federal elected representatives echoed their constituents\u2019 concerns:<\/p>\n