The EPA wants to rollback climate regulations. Here's how Hoosiers can have a say.
The announcement in Indianapolis last month to rescind a major climate rule was one of the Trump administration's many pushes to deregulate major greenhouse gas polluters — in this case, the transportation industry. And with a rich history of auto manufacturing, Indiana stands to benefit, according to a statement made by U.S. Rep. Jim Baird during the announcement.
Meanwhile, Americans will become more vulnerable, said Shannon Anderson, the director of advocacy at Earth Charter Indiana. While greenhouse gas emissions are not directly toxic to human health, they are the driver behind human-caused climate change, which is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of natural disasters across the globe.
'People sometimes feel like climate change is a problem that's coming later, but we're starting to experience it now,' Anderson said. She pointed to extreme heat events and increased flooding across the continent.
Sam Carpenter, the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, warned denial of climate science is bad for individual Hoosiers, communities, and the economy.
The EPA has regulated greenhouse gases for over 15 years, but now the agency wants to quash a 2009 ruling that anchors its ability to fight climate change. The agency will no longer regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants or oil and gas operations. And all greenhouse gas standards for new motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines will be repealed, according to the EPA.
Before the ruling is finalized, the public has until Sept. 15, 2025, to submit comments on the proposal.
Indiana's greenhouse gas emissions — which come from compounds like carbon and methane — are hefty compared to similar states.
Indiana releases the most energy-related greenhouse gases per capita in the Midwest and eighth in the nation, according to the HEC. About 21 percent of Indiana's total emissions come from the state's transportation sector.
But as a desire to mitigate climate change impacted consumer choice and federal policy, like the Inflation Reduction Act, Indiana became a leader in electric vehicle manufacturing. Related industries now employ over 240,000 Hoosiers.
The repeal of greenhouse gas emission standards could reduce the incentives helping Indiana pursue electric vehicles and battery manufacturing.
'We were starting to get a foothold in the U.S. under the Inflation Reduction Act, and Indiana has benefited mightily from those investments,' said Carpenter of HEC, nodding to the state's push toward clean energy. 'That's all being kind of pushed away through the current stance of denial on climate change. And so, it really has impacts on our health, on our communities, and in our economy.'
Despite the agency's new stance on regulating greenhouse gases, 74 percent of Americans think that carbon dioxide should be regulated as a pollutant, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Anderson thinks the EPA will soon have to face the masses during the required public comment period, where the agency must consider input before the ruling is finalized.
'We know there are so many Americans who stand with us on this issue, and it won't even take all of them to speak out on this, but as many as possible that are willing to just take a minute to write a public comment, to send a message to their legislators, that can be tremendously powerful,' Anderson said. The EPA is "going to have to acknowledge that they are flying in the face of overwhelming public consensus.'
The public can submit written comments to the EPA through an online portal, email or by mail. Earth Charter Indiana also created a toolkit to help Hoosiers find out how to comment and contact their elected officials.
Comments are due Sept. 15, 2025.
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
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