BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland’s Attorney General, Anthony G. Brown, has allied with a coalition comprising 23 attorneys general, seven cities and counties, along with climate advocates nationwide, to vehemently oppose the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) initiative to revoke its 2009 Endangerment Finding (see comment letter). This finding serves as a crucial scientific and legal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA’s effort to overturn the Endangerment Finding, which was established following the pivotal 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, threatens to strip federal authority over greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and could potentially dismantle all current emissions standards. This coalition, spearheaded by California and backed by states such as Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and others, deems this action “unlawful, unscientific, and dangerous.”
“This isn’t just about emissions—it’s about protecting the health, safety, and future of millions of Americans,” said Attorney General Brown. “The EPA has a legal and moral responsibility to act on climate change, not retreat from it.”
“The EPA’s deeply flawed proposal utterly fails on the law and the science. If the Trump Administration cared about the truth, or about protecting our people, it would withdraw this proposal immediately. If it goes through, this rescission will only make Connecticut more vulnerable to extreme weather, extreme heat, and rising sea levels. We all know what’s actually going on here. Rescinding the Endangerment Finding is about one thing—bigger profits for the world’s biggest polluters. This is reckless and lawless, and we’re fighting back at every single step,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
“Climate change is real, it is dangerous, and it is already hurting communities in New York and across the nation,” said New York Attorney General James. “With this reckless proposal, the EPA is ignoring science in favor of abandoning its responsibility to protect the American people. Rolling back these critical protections would worsen asthma, heart disease, and premature deaths, and put vulnerable communities at even greater risk. My office will always fight to defend science, protect public health, and hold the federal government accountable.”
The EPA’s proposed rollback leans heavily on a controversial report by the Department of Energy’s Climate Working Group—a panel criticized for being stacked with climate change skeptics and for violating federal transparency laws. The National Academies of Sciences recently reaffirmed the scientific validity of the original 2009 finding, calling it “accurate and reinforced by even stronger evidence.”
Attorney General Brown joined two additional comment letters and a legal brief challenging the EPA’s reliance on the flawed report, noting that its conclusions were rushed, lacked transparency, and misrepresented decades of peer-reviewed climate science.
According to EPA’s own estimates, existing federal vehicle emissions standards were set to prevent over 8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years—equivalent to the annual emissions of a top-40 global emitter. Repealing these rules could cost the U.S. $1.82 trillion in climate-related damages, while also jeopardizing American jobs, innovation, and public health.
The coalition argues that eliminating these standards would devastate communities already suffering from climate-related disasters—including extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes—and harm vulnerable populations like children, seniors, and low-income households.
Legal Fronts: Letters and Litigation
Attorney General Brown joined:
- A 225-page letter of comment opposing the rescission of the Endangerment Finding, supported by attorneys general from 22 other states and major cities such as New York, Chicago, and Oakland.
- A second letter that contests the rollback of federal vehicle emissions standards, which would dismantle regulations that have been instrumental in reducing emissions and fuel expenses, while also fostering American innovation.
- A third letter that calls for the withdrawal of the DOE’s problematic Climate Working Group report, pointing out breaches of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
- An amicus brief submitted in federal court, backing the Environmental Defense Fund’s challenge against the legality of the Climate Working Group.
Importantly, on September 17, the U.S. District Court determined that the DOE’s Climate Working Group was not exempt from federal advisory regulations, reinforcing the coalition’s assertions of illegality and insufficient scientific rigor.
This coordinated, multi-front push underscores growing legal and political resistance to federal efforts that downplay or deny the urgency of climate change.
“Our children deserve a future where science—not politics—guides policy,” said Maryland’s Attorney General, Anthony G. Brown. “We will not stand by while federal agencies try to dismantle decades of progress.”
“Two decades ago, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office led the fight to compel EPA to protect the American people from the proven dangers of greenhouse gas emissions,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “Climate change is real, and it is here. EPA’s rushed proposal amplifies unfounded climate skepticism and defies common sense, science, and the law— all at the expense of our health and wellbeing.”
“The effects of climate change in Colorado are impossible to ignore, whether it’s increased drought or extreme wildfire danger, and we know it’s being driven largely by pollution from cars and other sources,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “Ignoring common sense, including scientific research from our own government, is a recipe for disaster. Eliminating requirements like vehicle emissions standards and refusing to acknowledge the reality of what is causing climate change puts at risk not only our physical health, but the health of Colorado’s economy. Climate change also exerts a disproportionate mental health burden on young people, in addition to its environmental impacts. The Trump administration is moving to undo the progress we’ve made and I’m going to keep doing everything in my power to stop it from doing so.”
“The EPA’s rescission proposal is not just a step backward — it is a dangerous retreat from science and the law,” said California Attorney General Bonta. “To suggest that greenhouse gas emissions don’t endanger public health is absolutely reckless. Let’s be clear: This proposed rollback does not serve the public. It serves bad actor polluters. It prioritizes fossil fuel interests over scientific truth. It puts short-term oil profits ahead of public health and combatting climate change. We cannot allow it; the stakes are too high. We urge the EPA to withdraw this proposal.”
Coalition Members: Alongside Maryland, states supporting the actions include California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Michigan, and others, along with cities such as Chicago, New York, Denver, and counties like Santa Clara and Martin Luther King Jr., Washington.
For full documents and filings, visit the Maryland Attorney General’s website.
