As part of his continuing assault on science, U.S. President Donald Trump revoked a foundational guideline of the American environment regulator that allowed it to control the transportation sector’s emission of greenhouse gases. The ‘endangerment finding’ emerged after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision, in Massachusetts vs EPA, which held that greenhouse gases qualify as “air pollutants” and required the EPA to determine whether they endanger public health or welfare. The EPA’s action had a seismic impact on the American automotive industry, setting in motion the first federal greenhouse gas standards, set in 2010, for cars and light trucks (2012-16), later extended through 2025. The real danger lies in automakers in India citing such regulation as a pretext to weaken fuel efficiency standards. Although India’s standards do not yet connect climate goals with cars, the domestic automotive sector should view them as a lodestar.

Source: The Hindu February 15, 2026 18:45 UTC