Native Sun Community Power Development’s statement on the EPA rescinding its authority to fight climate pollution and reduce tailpipe emissions

News Release

February 12, 2026

Contact

Email: info@nativesun.org

Phone: 612-208-7196

Minneapolis Office:

4407 East Lake Street

Minneapolis, MN 55406

​Bemidji Satellite Office / Mailing:

P.O. Box 1085,

401 Irvine Ave NW, Bemidji, MN 56601

218-209-2161 

Press Release on EPA Endangerment Finding

On February 12^th, the Trump Administration announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding its ability to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) that cause increasing climate change. Compounding this decision, it has finalized its proposal to stop regulating GHG emissions from cars and trucks—taking away a major incentive to transition to electric transportation.

This announcement flies in the face of the 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA that authorized the federal government to regulate climate-altering pollution, and in the face of the EPA’s subsequent finding that these GHGs are an endangerment to public health or welfare.  It thus devastates the EPA’s framework for regulating tailpipe emissions.

Native Sun Community Power Development’s CEO, Bob Blake, has made the following statement in response to this historically consequential action taken by the EPA.

“The EPA rescinding the endangerment finding not only strikes at the core of this Nation’s duty to address climate change, it strikes at the heart of Tribal and rural communities. By reducing GHGs in the transportation sector, we are providing a much-needed pathway to a clean transportation system that can help rebuild distressed economies and help address health disparities. 

 

Tribal and rural communities spend more on gasoline than the average American, despite having lower household incomes. The EPA’s actions will force a greater economic disparity in these communities instead of providing cleaner, less costly hybrid and electric options.  These include not only cars and pickup trucks, but also the buses that take kids to school, and the medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles that help support government operations. 

 

Years of progress have been made in these communities to deploy clean technologies, allowing them to join the clean economy of now and the future. Electric vehicles, microgrids, battery storage, solar panels—these are all becoming connected success stories in Tribal and rural America. With this decision, the EPA has now put its foot down on the great promise of these efforts to bring energy independence and economic stability to often overlooked parts of America.

 

That said, Tribal and rural communities are resilient and often the backbone of this country. Despite everything that is thrown at them, they will pull through. At Native Sun, we are committed to supporting Tribal leadership and the leadership of states and other non-federal partners that will see us through this harmful decision.” - Bob Blake

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