U S Hides Climate Rollback Plans After Fossil Fuel Meeting slguardian org u-s-hides-climate-rollback-plans-after-fossil-fuel-meeting Sri Lanka Guardian August 5 2025 The United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA is facing mounting criticism after refusing to release key internal documents related to a March 2025 meeting between EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and high-profile fossil fuel advocates The refusal based on a controversial U S legal exemption has raised serious concerns among environmental groups and transparency advocates worldwide as the agency accelerates efforts to roll back major climate protections The documents were requested by the National Security Archive a Washington D C -based nonprofit dedicated to government transparency through the Freedom of Information Act FOIA While the EPA released partial records confirming the meeting and some associated materials it declined to provide the talking points prepared for Administrator Zeldin ahead of his meeting with Alex Epstein Theodore Ellis and Marc Marie The agency cited FOIA Exemption b 5 which permits withholding of so-called “pre-decisional” and deliberative materials Critics including the National Security Archive have long referred to it as the “withhold it because you want to” exemption due to its frequent and often unjustified use to deny public access to government records 1 3 The meeting which was listed on Zeldin’s official calendar as “Meeting w Energy Talking Points ” centered on ideas to support President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda Alex Epstein known for his pro-fossil fuel publications and his Substack newsletter titled Energy Talking Points provided documents to the EPA that advised reversing climate regulations including the 2009 “Endangerment Finding ” That scientific determination established that greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to public health and welfare and has served as the legal foundation for regulating climate pollution in the United States Among the released materials were documents proposing that the EPA revoke vehicle emissions rules relax power plant pollution limits and pressure the U S government to withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC One document reportedly classified as “confidential” by Epstein himself laid out nine major policy changes to promote what the group calls “energy abundance ” The documents also included recommendations to eliminate subsidies for electric vehicles and limit regulations that support renewable energy deployment Soon after the March meeting Administrator Zeldin announced a formal proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding If implemented the decision would not only unravel a decade and a half of U S climate regulation but also undermine global confidence in American environmental leadership The National Security Archive has appealed the EPA’s decision to withhold the meeting’s briefing materials stating that the agency has failed to demonstrate the required “foreseeable harm” from disclosing the information—a standard mandated by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 The use of FOIA Exemption b 5 has drawn sharp criticism from transparency advocates worldwide Originally designed to protect internal agency deliberations and draft policies the exemption is now widely viewed as a tool for political shielding especially when invoked to obscure communications about major regulatory shifts In this case the exemption is being used to conceal information about a meeting that directly preceded a dramatic attempt to weaken federal climate authority Alex Epstein a longtime opponent of climate science consensus is the author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and Fossil Future and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress He has argued publicly that fossil fuels make life better in every respect and has described international climate efforts such as the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan as “immoral ” In recent months Epstein has been active in lobbying U S lawmakers to eliminate support for renewable energy and has played a key role in shaping Republican energy policy Also present at the meeting were Theodore Ellis Vice President of Government Affairs for the Energy Freedom Fund and Marc Marie President of the Center for Environmental Accountability Both men have held influential positions in previous Republican administrations and are known for advocating fossil fuel development and deregulation 2 3 The EPA’s unwillingness to release Zeldin’s briefing documents has sparked alarm among global observers particularly as the United States—one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases—considers abandoning key environmental protections The National Security Archive warned that such secrecy undermines the international community’s ability to assess and respond to the actions of the U S government in global climate negotiations Critics say that by shielding documents that could reveal the political motivations behind regulatory rollbacks the EPA is eroding public trust and weakening democratic oversight They argue that transparency is not only a legal obligation but a global responsibility— especially when the consequences of climate policy decisions will reverberate far beyond U S borders Despite President Trump’s repeated claims that his administration would be the most transparent in history watchdog groups say the EPA’s use of FOIA exemptions in this case reflects a troubling pattern of opacity and fossil fuel favoritism As the world continues to confront the escalating climate crisis the implications of the EPA’s actions are being closely watched by environmental leaders scientists and policymakers around the globe 3 3