Trump's pick to lead EPA says agency authorized, not required to regulate CO2
By Valerie Volcovici
January 16, 20253:53 PM ESTUpdated a day ago
Item 1 of 2 Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin gestures as he speaks at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum during a rally held by Republican presidential nominees and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Uniondale, New York, U.S., September 18, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
[1/2]Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin gestures as he speaks at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum during a rally held by Republican presidential nominees and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Uniondale, New York, U.S., September 18, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Summary
Zeldin says climate change is real
Zeldin says EPA has authority to regulate CO2 but not an obligation
Zeldin denies that industry will influence his EPA's rules
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said he believes climate change is real and a threat but that the agency he is poised to oversee is just authorized, not required, to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin, speaking at his Senate confirmation hearing, said a 2007 decision by the Supreme Court gave the agency statutory authority to regulate the heat-trapping greenhouse gas but did not obligate the EPA to take action.
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Zeldin told the hearing that he believes climate change is real, a departure from his predecessors who led the EPA during the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2020 and from Trump himself, who has repeatedly called climate change a hoax.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-pick-lead-epa-says-agency-not-required-regulate-carbon-emissions-2025-01-16/
