ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CHALLENGES UNLAWFUL RESCISSION OF LANDMARK 2009 GREENHOUSE GAS ENDANGERMENT FINDING

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL CHALLENGES UNLAWFUL RESCISSION OF LANDMARK 2009 GREENHOUSE GAS ENDANGERMENT FINDING

March 19, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 24 states and 12 local governments, filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) unlawful attempt to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding, the agency's seminal determination that greenhouse gas pollution from motor vehicles causes climate change and endangers public health and welfare.

"Rescinding this EPA determination will undo progress we have made to address climate change by eliminating existing EPA greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and undermining the EPA's mandate to regulate harmful air pollution that causes climate change," Raoul said. "I proudly stand against this reckless and unlawful attempt to strike down science-backed emission standards that protect the environment and our health."

The 2009 Endangerment Finding resulted from the landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which confirmed that the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that endanger public health and welfare. Based on years of rigorous scientific analysis and review, in 2009 the EPA determined that emissions from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution that harms public health and the environment. The EPA then set federal standards to limit those emissions, which have led to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

Now, almost two decades later, the EPA claims that it lacks the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and has rushed to rescind the Endangerment Finding and repeal all motor vehicle greenhouse gas standards. In their lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition will fight the EPA's rescission of the Endangerment Finding, which blatantly disregards the law and science and is clearly contrary to Supreme Court precedent.

The rescission also ignores decades of peer-reviewed scientific evidence confirming the reality and severity of climate change. By eliminating all existing and future federal vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards, the rule violates the EPA's legal obligations, fundamental principles of administrative law, and its mission to protect public health and welfare.

The coalition warned that the rescission would endanger hundreds of millions of Americans, particularly communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms, and cause unprecedented disruption to the regulatory landscape with catastrophic consequences for industries, natural resources and public investments.

Already, climate change is harming the well-being of Illinois' residents, natural resources and economy. For instance, climate change has made floods more intense and more frequent, causing dramatic damage to lives and property. In 2019, flooding in Illinois and other midwestern states killed three people and caused a total of $7.6 billion in property damage. In Cook County, multiple severe storms and flooding events in June and July 2023 caused $500 million in property damage. And in August 2025, severe flooding again struck the Chicagoland area, damaging over 5,500 homes.

Today's lawsuit is the latest action taken by Raoul in his ongoing effort to fight back against the EPA's unlawful rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding. In the fall of 2025, Raoul joined a coalition in submitting two comment letters urging the EPA to abandon the proposal, arguing that it would violate settled law, clear Supreme Court precedent, and scientific consensus.

Attorney General Raoul is joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.

In addition, this challenge is joined by the city governments of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, along with the counties of Denver, Colorado; Harris County, Texas; San Francisco, California and Santa Clara, California.