New York Attorney General Letitia James said she is leading a multistate coalition in a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s repeal of a key climate finding.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, targets the rollback of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 endangerment finding. That finding said greenhouse gases drive climate change and threaten public health.
“Across our country, communities are already suffering from climate disasters,” James said. “From freak storms to devastating floods to deadly cold snaps and unbearable heat waves, the climate crisis is here, and it is already reshaping the way we live.”
The EPA rescinded the finding in February 2026 and removed federal vehicle emissions standards tied to it. The administration said the repeal eliminates the legal basis for regulating those emissions.
“Instead of helping Americans face our new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial, repealing critical protections that are foundational to the federal government’s response to climate change,” James said.
The coalition argues the repeal conflicts with scientific evidence and violates the Clean Air Act. The filing also points to the Massachusetts v. EPA decision, which said greenhouse gases can be regulated under federal law.
“Today, I am leading a coalition of cities, counties, and states from across the country to fight back,” James said. “The American people need their leaders to be honest and pragmatic about the threat of the climate crisis. We will not let the federal government abandon its responsibility to the people.”
The coalition includes more than 20 states, several cities and counties, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It asks the court to restore the climate finding.
