Michael Gerrard and Jeff Holmstead on Next Chapter in US Climate Policy

Mar 17, 2026

Jeff Holmstead, former EPA air chief turned environmental law partner, and Michael Gerrard, founder of Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, discuss seismic U.S. moves on climate rulemaking. They explore the repeal of the endangerment finding, the Major Questions doctrine, the Supreme Court’s Boulder v. Exxon decision, industry reactions, and how states and courts might shape the next phase of U.S. climate policy.

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INSIGHT

Revocation Seeks To Strip EPA Climate Authority

Revoking the endangerment finding aims to remove EPA's perceived authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
If upheld, EPA would lose most Clean Air Act-based climate powers unless Congress restores authority.

INSIGHT

Major Questions Doctrine Looms Over Climate Rules

The major questions doctrine blocks agencies from regulating issues of vast political or economic significance without clear congressional authorization.
West Virginia v. EPA applied it to limit EPA's Clean Power Plan, and it now looms over future climate rulemaking.

INSIGHT

Administration Relies On UR Decision To Narrow 'Air Pollutant'

The administration's legal theory leans on Utility Air Regulatory Group to argue 'air pollutant' differs by Clean Air Act context.
They claim greenhouse gases aren't the kind of direct-exposure pollutants Section 202 targets.

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The climate policy landscape in the US is in flux. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed its own power to regulate greenhouse gases. Two weeks later, the Supreme Court said it will hear a case which the city of Boulder, Colorado, brought against the oil companies ExxonMobil and Suncor that could determine the fate of lawsuits brought by cities and states against fossil fuel companies over damages from climate change.

Since its adoption in 2009, EPA's endangerment finding — which says that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare — had formed the legal foundation for major federal climate regulations. In announcing its rescission, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called it the largest single deregulatory event in US history. But the repeal may be held up in courts for years, and it's just one piece of a complicated regulatory puzzle.

Petitions for review challenging the EPA's rescission of the endangerment finding are due in just over a month. So how might these major policy swings play out in practical terms? What are the near- and long-term stakes at the federal and state levels? What are the reactions from and the preferences of industry? And how might all of this play out in terms of US greenhouse gas emissions?

Today on the show, Bill Loveless speaks with Michael Gerrard and Jeff Holmstead about possible legal strategies and outcomes for challenges to both the endangerment finding rescission and the Boulder case.

Michael is the founder and faculty director of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Before joining Columbia in 2009, he practiced environmental law in New York for three decades. Jeff is a partner and co-chair of the Environmental Strategies Group at Bracewell, LLP, an international law firm. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the assistant administrator for air and radiation in the EPA during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.