Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent decision to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding, a move that reverses an earlier determination that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution and climate change.
“The EPA’s decision to rescind the Endangerment Finding is unlawful, reckless, and flatly at odds with decades of settled law and science,” said Attorney General Kris Mayes. “By rescinding the Endangerment Finding, the EPA is reviving an argument the Supreme Court has already rejected and ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence. This rule abandons the agency’s fundamental responsibility to protect Americans from real and worsening environmental harm—all while putting industry profits ahead of Arizonans’ health.”
The 2009 Endangerment Finding was established following Massachusetts v. EPA, a 2007 Supreme Court case that confirmed EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions deemed harmful to public health. After years of scientific analysis, EPA concluded in 2009 that emissions from vehicles negatively affect public welfare in several ways, prompting new standards for limiting these emissions.
According to Mayes, the recent rule relies on a legal interpretation previously dismissed by the Supreme Court and disregards long-standing scientific consensus about greenhouse gases’ dangers. The rule eliminates all federal standards for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions currently in place or planned for the future.
Mayes also referenced her August 2025 testimony before the EPA after an initial proposal during the Trump Administration sought repeal of the finding. She described problems with reliance on questionable sources regarding climate change and a lack of recognition for its daily impacts.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office acts as Arizona’s main legal entity, offering advocacy and protection for residents across multiple areas including civil rights violations, elder abuse prevention, consumer complaints handling, fair housing promotion, participation in federal lawsuits, support for social media accountability measures, school resources provision, life care planning assistance, unsolved crime investigation through its cold case unit, and other statewide legal services according to information available on its official website. Kris Mayes serves as Arizona’s 27th attorney general and is recognized as the first mother in this position.
