STATEMENT: Climate Mayors Executive Director Condemns EPA’s Rollback of Pollution Rules That Will Endanger People’s Health, Exacerbate Affordability Crisis
Washington, DC (February 12, 2026) - Climate Mayors Executive Director Kate Wright condemned the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unlawful rescission of the landmark determination that greenhouse gas pollution from motor vehicles pose a threat to human health, which for nearly two decades has been the bedrock EPA rule used to protect Americans from climate pollution while lowering costs and improving health outcomes, in the following statement:
“Today’s decision by the Trump administration to weaken the EPA puts the American people at risk. As then Climate Mayors Chair Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Vice Chair Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, and Vice Chair and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, stated in July, 2025, this rollback is a failure of the government’s duty to protect our people.
“As the leaders closest to their communities, mayors have seen firsthand the havoc climate change can wreak in their cities, in the form of extreme heat, floods, damages to infrastructure and agriculture, and increased medical costs brought on by inhaling polluted air. More than 50 U.S. cities made clear in their public submissions on this ruling that rescinding these crucial, science-based standards would endanger public health and ignore the lived realities of cities across the country. At a time when families continue to see the burden of climate inaction on their daily expenses, this ruling endangers Americans and moves us further away from the leadership that is needed. While our federal government continues to fail in its basic responsibilities, cities will not stop protecting the health and safety of their residents.”
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Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of over 300 mayors, demonstrating climate leadership through meaningful actions in their communities since 2014. Representing 46 states and 59 million Americans, Climate Mayors reflect U.S. cities’ commitment to climate progress. For more information, visit our website and follow Climate Mayors on X, Bluesky, and LinkedIn.
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