Gov. Tina Kotek said on Thursday that her administration will continue to prioritize policies targeting climate-warming pollution, following an announcement by the head of the Environmental Protection Agency that it will repeal dozens of pollution limits and the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases.

“There is no turning back,” Kotek said in a statement. “I guarantee that climate action will continue in Oregon, and that we will continue developing innovative solutions to confront the climate crisis and build a brighter future.”

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of actions Wednesday to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called it the “most consequential day of deregulation in American history.”

Oregon is one of a number of states that regulates greenhouse gas emissions and provides incentives for renewable energy.

The weakening of the federal car and truck emission standards would be most consequential to Oregon’s ability to enforce some of its own rules, said Meredith Connolly, the director of policy and strategy at Climate Solutions, a Northwest-based nonprofit focused on clean energy.

The federal Clean Air Act prohibits states like Oregon from creating their own, more stringent vehicle emission standards. But it allows California to seek waivers that allow it to develop and implement its own emission rules and other states can then adopt them, as Oregon did.

The Trump administration already had announced it plans to repeal California’s waivers. Trump revoked one of the waivers during his first term, leading to a lawsuit, though the waiver was later reinstated by the Biden administration.

“Oregon’s hands could be tied if the Trump administration successfully rolls back those laws, but our local communities will suffer the consequences of more pollution,” Connolly said.

State environmental protections are now key to buffer against federal rollbacks, she added.

Oregon’s environmental regulators are still analyzing potential impacts on state programs and environmental protections, said Lauren Wirtis, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

To Kotek, those impacts are clear.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created to protect human health and the environment,” Kotek said, and the Trump administration’s decision to roll back “landmark environmental regulations will do exactly the opposite.”

“Combating climate change requires collaboration and long-term work – not deregulating polluters – to ensure a healthy planet for future generations.”

State Senate Republicans praised the EPA’s action and fired back at Kotek on Thursday.

“While Governor Kotek is focused on political posturing, working Oregonians are struggling to afford the cost of living,” Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said in a statement. “The Governor’s refusal to acknowledge the economic impact of her climate agenda shows just how out of touch she is with the challenges everyday Oregonians face.”

— Portland environmental reporter Gosia Wozniacka and The Associate Press contributed to this story.

— Hillary Borrud