Why Scientists Are Sounding the Alarm About Air Pollution Rules Being Rolled Back

When a government removes the scientific foundation for environmental protections, people with lung disease pay the price. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently repealed a 2009 scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health—a decision that eliminates the legal basis for nearly all US climate regulations under the Clean Air Act. For the first time in over 16 years, the rules that regulated emissions from vehicles, power plants, and industrial sources have lost their scientific backing.

What Does This Mean for People With Lung Disease?

The connection between air pollution and respiratory health is direct and well-documented. Greenhouse gas emissions and the fossil fuel combustion that drives them contribute directly to poor air quality, which worsens asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and respiratory infections. These conditions lead to more hospital admissions and can shorten lives. Climate change is also increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events—heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding—all of which have direct consequences for lung health.

"As physicians and scientists, we see every day how air pollution and climate change affect our patients. The science on this is unambiguous—greenhouse gas emissions harm human health," said Prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko, President of the European Respiratory Society. "Repealing a scientific finding does not change the evidence. It simply removes the obligation to act on it".

How Strong Is the Scientific Evidence?

The decision to repeal this protection is particularly striking because the science supporting it remains overwhelming. An independent September 2025 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine stated that the evidence linking greenhouse gas emissions to harm to human health is "beyond scientific dispute". Despite this independent confirmation, the EPA moved forward with the repeal anyway.

The impacts of weakening air quality protections fall hardest on vulnerable populations. These groups face the greatest risks from air pollution:

• People Already Living With Disease: Those with existing asthma, COPD, and other chronic respiratory conditions experience worsening symptoms and more frequent hospitalizations when air quality declines.
• Communities Least Able to Protect Themselves: Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color often have higher exposure to air pollution and fewer resources to relocate or invest in air filtration.
• Children and Elderly Adults: Young lungs are still developing, while older adults have reduced lung function, making both groups more susceptible to pollution-related harm.

Prof. Barbara Hoffmann, Advocacy Council Chair of the European Respiratory Society, emphasized the human cost: "The decision to override a scientific finding that has been independently confirmed and upheld by courts is deeply concerning. Evidence-based regulation of air pollution saves lives. When policy moves away from science, the people who suffer most are those already living with disease, and the communities least able to protect themselves".

Why Does This Decision Matter Beyond the US?

Air pollution and emissions do not respect borders. Decisions that undermine environmental protections in one country can affect global efforts to improve air quality and reduce the burden of chronic disease. This move follows the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2026, which the WHO described as "a decision that makes both the United States and the world less safe." Together, these developments represent a significant weakening of the scientific and multilateral frameworks that protect global public health.

The European Respiratory Society and the European Lung Foundation are now campaigning to defend scientific integrity and protect public health through their "Defend Science, Protect Health" initiative. The campaign identifies three urgent priorities: defending independent science, countering misinformation and disinformation, and strengthening international collaboration. These organizations are calling on all governments to keep scientific evidence at the center of decisions that affect public health.

For people living with respiratory conditions, the stakes are clear: when regulations based on solid science are removed, air quality typically worsens, symptoms worsen, and healthcare costs rise. The decades of peer-reviewed research linking air pollution to asthma attacks, COPD exacerbations, and respiratory infections remains unchanged—but now, the legal tools to address these threats have been significantly weakened.