A look at false claims made by the Trump administration as it revokes a key scientific finding

President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked the 2009 endangerment finding, which has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

But in making the announcement, Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin made false claims regarding the government declaration, climate change, and energy.

Here's a closer look at the facts.

TRUMP: “Known as the endangerment finding, this determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and it had no basis in law.”

THE FACTS: This is false. The endangerment finding was adopted in 2009 by the EPA after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

“The idea that the endangerment finding has no basis in law is ludicrous,” said Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA specifically directed the Environmental Protection Agency to determine whether greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The endangerment finding is the result.”

Scientific evidence to support the endangerment finding was provided by the EPA at the time of its inception and is still available on the agency's website today.

TRUMP: “We've basically stopped all windmills in this country. It's the most expensive energy you can get.”

THE FACTS: Onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity generation, with new wind farms expected to produce around $30 per megawatt hour, according to July estimates from the Energy Information Administration.

This compares to a new natural gas plant, around $65 per megawatt hour, or a new advanced nuclear reactor, which runs over $80. Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the most to build and operate, at $88 per megawatt hour, the EIA said in July.

THE FACTS: Thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies connect health harms to climate change. They find increasing deaths from heat waves, extreme weather such as hurricanes and floods and air pollution from worsening wildfires. A 2021 study in Nature Climate Change calculated that globally about 9,700 people die a year from heat-related deaths attributable to human-caused climate change, based on data from 732 cities, including more than 200 in the United States.

A separate study last year listed dozens of climate change health harms and concluded, using the EPA’s own calculation method, that the health costs are at least $10 billion a year, probably much more.

The science of climate change dates back nearly 170 years to studies done by American Eunice Foote showing that carbon dioxide heated cylinders with thermometers inside more than ambient air. The first national climate assessment, done in 2000, before Obama and Biden, “concluded that climate variability and change are likely to increase morbidity and mortality risks.”

ZELDIN: “The Obama and Biden administrations used the endangerment finding to steamroll into existence a left-wing wish, including electric vehicle mandates.”

THE FACTS: Trump has made this claim before. There was no federal mandate to force the purchase of EVs.

“If you looked at some of the tables that were in the Biden rules, you could see that there were a variety of different ways that companies could comply with the standards,” said Carrie Jenks, the executive director of Harvard Law School's environmental and energy law program. “The endangerment finding nor the regulations mandated a shift from one type of vehicle to another.”

Former President Joe Biden did set up a non-binding goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office revoking that goal.

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order he just signed during an event on coal power in the East Room at the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. Looking on at right is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, House Speaker Mike Johnson, center, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at left. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - President Donald Trump holds an executive order regarding coal during an event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin and coal miners watch. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin announcing that the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin announcing that the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin announcing that the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter during an event with Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin to announce the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

BANGKOK (AP) — The music spectacle Eurovision is holding its first Asian edition in Bangkok later this year.

The Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 has confirmed artists from at least 10 countries across Asia competing: Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. More are expected to join before the finale in November.

“As we mark the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, it feels especially meaningful to open this next chapter with Asia, a region rich in culture, creativity and talent,” Martin Green, the director of the contest, said in the announcement Tuesday.

Bangkok is the perfect city to host the contest because it “has always been a place where cultures come together, where music fills the air, and where celebration is part of everyday life,” said Chuwit Sirivajjakul, a representative of the Thailand Tourism Authority.

The main gala, run by the European Broadcasting Union, draws more than 100 million viewers every year.

This year's main competition with 35 competing countries is scheduled to be held in Vienna in May. Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain are boycotting due to discord over Israel’s participation.

The contest strives to put pop music before politics but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It also has been roiled by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.

Similar tensions could emerge in Asia. Thailand and Cambodia engaged in deadly border clashes twice last year.

FILE - JJ from Austria stands on the stage with the trophy after winning the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)