References to “Climate Change” Removed from EPA Document

On October 2, 2018, it was reported that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had removed several paragraphs discussing climate change from a proposed rule developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed rule, titled “Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revisions to the Refrigerant Management Program’s Extension to Substitutes,” was published in September 2018. A pre-publication draft of the rule, dated April 2018, had stated:

“Certain populations and life stages, including children, the elderly, and the poor, are most vulnerable to climate-related health effects. The 2016 assessment The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessmentdescribes how children’s unique physiological and developmental factors contribute to making them particularly vulnerable to climate change. Impacts to children are expected from heat waves, air pollution, infectious and waterborne illnesses, and mental health effects resulting from extreme weather events. In addition, children are among those especially susceptible to most allergic diseases, as well as health effects associated with heat waves, storms, and floods. Additional health concerns may arise in low income households, especially those with children, if climate change reduces food availability and increases prices, leading to food insecurity within households” (internal citations omitted).

The draft also stated:

“Within communities experiencing adverse impacts related to climate change, certain parts of the population may be especially vulnerable, including low-income populations and indigenous peoples. Therefore, these populations may be disproportionately impacted by the increased emissions of GHGs due to this rule.”

Those paragraph was removed during review of the proposed rule by OMB.