What Is the Endangerment Finding?

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Endangerment Finding that greenhouse gases were determined to endanger public health and welfare. This finding serves as the legal foundation for many critical protections including limits on vehicle emissions, power plants, and more. It is grounded in decades of peer-reviewed science.

The Supreme Court had previously upheld EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), ruling that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants.” Congress reinforced it through various laws, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. For more than 15 years, the Endangerment Finding has represented settled science and law. Yet, the current administration is proposing to rescind it, ignoring this established consensus and jeopardizing protections that safeguard our health and climate.

For more talking points on the Endangerment Findings see this word doc:

The ELCA’s Commitment

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has long affirmed our call to care for God’s creation and our neighbors (see the Social Statement, Caring for Creation, passed in 1993). We supported the original Clean Power Plan introduced in 2015, committed to cut emissions in church ministries by 50% by 2030 (& reach net zero by 2050), sent representatives to the annual International COP* Climate Conferences, and have worked consistently on legislation which

would reduce emissions through a just transition (including the Inflation Reduction Act). These efforts depend on strong, durable federal standards like those rooted in the Endangerment Finding.

*(COP = Conference of the Parties, referring to all the different countries)

Why Lutherans Must Speak Up

• Faith and Science Aligned: Rescinding the Endangerment Finding is a retreat from both scientific truth and our calling to care for creation.

• Justice for the Most Vulnerable: Climate harm disproportionately impacts those least responsible, including children, low-income communities, communities of color, and low-income countries. We are called to stand with them.

• Moral Stewardship: We must preserve a livable planet for present and future generations, resisting short-term political rollback.

• Shared Responsibility: We all have a part, as individuals and advocates, congregations and communities. The government also shares responsibility and must abandon its role.

As Lutherans, we are called to faithful advocacy for both the stewardship of creation, and the health, safety, and flourishing of our neighbors. Now is the time to urge our lawmakers and the EPA to defend the Endangerment Finding, not weaken or rescind it. We must work to ensure long-lasting bipartisan climate solutions that protect both people and planet. Let us unite in prayer, witness, and action to uphold science, protect creation, and honor our vocation to serve and keep the earth.

What is Needed for a Good Advocacy Letter?

As you try to get the attention of your legislators, you’ll want to use your own words and personalize your letter as much as possible. They want to know what YOU think. Notecards or stationary can make the letter feel even more personal. A simple personalized letter, note, or email is usually worth more than hundreds of form letters. Contact Lutheran Advocacy-MN for updates and bill numbers (as available), or check the website for additional resources.

[Who Represents Me? https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/]

A good letter will also include the following elements:

1) Your Name & Address on Envelope & Letter: Legislators want to know that you are their constituent and where you live (or where you go to church, if you are writing to the legislator from that district).

2) Who You Are: Mention something about yourself, like what church you are from, and if you have first-hand experience with the issue.

3) 4) Ask for Specific Action: “Please support…” If there is a bill number, this is the place to include it. Give a Reason or Say Something About Why You Care: Speak from your heart, elaborate from the talking points, or tell a story.

Legislative & Administrative “Ask”:

Tell the administration and EPA not to rescind the EPA Endangerment Finding that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,

Possible Talking Points (choose a couple):

• I believe we must be good stewards of all that God has created and these emissions are harmful to people and the planet.

• Worsening air quality increases asthma, lung disease, and heart problems, and increases healthcare costs and early death.

• Rescinding it would dismantle vehicle emissions standards, power plant regulations, and other major protections of people and the planet.

• The harms of rescission will fall hardest on children, the elderly, people with chronic illness, and low-income communities.

• The Endangerment Finding already has more than 15 years of law and precedence.

• The Supreme Court has ruled that that emissions of these gases are “air pollutants.”

• Rescission is primarily in the financial interest of oil and gas companies, which are already making billions of dollars annually.

• Since the original finding in 2009, the science has only gotten stronger in demonstrating that these gases are extremely harmful.

• Gases like CO₂ and methane cause real health harm, and undoing the finding undercuts EPA’s duty to protect public health.

• Clean energy policies create jobs, lower utility bills, and reduce long-term health costs.

Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota, ELCA / 105 University Ave. W, St. Paul, MN 55103 / www.lutheranadvocacymn.org

Questions? Email: tammy@lutheranadvocacymn.org, jacob.summerville@elca.org OR Call/Text: 651-238-6506