IEC Statement: EPA's Repeal of Endangerment Finding Threatens Iowa's Future

On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took a radical step in repealing its own authority to regulate greenhouse gases that are scientifically proven to seriously harm human health. The Trump Administration’s decision repeals the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which found that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane harm human health through their impact on climate change-fueled extreme weather. 

“The decision to repeal the endangerment finding threatens the very security of Iowa’s future, clearly putting the short-term profit of polluting corporations and political ideology over the long-term health of Iowans,” says Cody Smith, IEC Director of Climate Initiatives. “Every year in Iowa, climate change is fueling more intense extreme weather, like 100-year floods, stronger tornadoes, and hotter heat waves that are hurting and even killing Iowans.” 

Climate warming gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, have been indisputably proven to drive more costly and more deadly disasters in Iowa, and they will continue to do so for generations to come. Since 1980, Iowa has experienced 86 $1 billion disasters, costing the state between $50 and $100 billion.  

“The science is clear and conclusive. Climate change doesn’t discriminate based on politics, and its impacts in Iowa are growing. Of the 86 billion-dollar disasters we’ve seen in Iowa over the past 45 years, about one-third of them — 27 — have happened within the past five years,” Smith says. “The health of Iowans depends on pragmatic policy solutions to protect, prevent, and adapt to climate change. Putting our heads in the sand does nothing but undermine our future.” 

*The federal government data featured above stopped being collected in 2025, meaning this information is the most recent available. 

The federal government’s own data shows that communities all over Iowa rank in the top percentiles nationally for the number of deaths and injuries expected because of natural disasters in the next 30 years.  

Several Iowa counties top the national rankings (percentile) for deaths and injuries caused by extreme weather, including Scott County (98th), Black Hawk County (98th), Tama County (97th), Greene County (96th), Johnson County (96th), and many more. See full map below or explore this and other climate vulnerability information here.