A group of 23 states have filed a legal petition against a decision under United States President Donald Trump to revoke a scientific finding that formed the basis for regulations meant to address climate change.

The legal challenge, led by California and New York, was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday.

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Nine cities, several counties, the US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia also joined the petition, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

“Instead of helping Americans face our new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial, repealing the critical protections that are foundational to the federal government’s response to climate change,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

The complaint comes in response to Trump’s move on February 12 to repeal a determination known as the “endangerment finding”.

Established in 2009, the “endangerment finding” concludes that climate change is a threat to human health and the environment, a position aligned with an overwhelming scientific consensus.

The finding formed the basis for government regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions and encourage renewable energy.

But the Trump administration had attacked the finding as a setback for the fossil fuel industry. Its rescission was “the single largest deregulatory action in US history”, Trump said last month.

Ending the “endangerment finding”, however, was seen by critics as a crucial step in the president’s efforts to roll back environmental protections.

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Trump has frequently denounced climate change as a “hoax” meant to hobble US industrial power.

His administration has prioritised increased production of fossil fuels while undercutting the development of renewable energy.

The target of Thursday’s petition is the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Not only does it seek to reinstate the “endangerment finding”, but it also challenges the EPA’s decision to repeal tailpipe emissions standards for all vehicles and engines with model years between 2012 and 2017.

States such as Michigan, Connecticut and Virginia were among those who signed onto the lawsuit, along with cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.

“Let me be clear: This unlawful rescission is not about cutting ‘red tape’,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday in a statement.

“The president is choosing Big Oil profits over our health, and betting that the American people won’t notice the cost until the bill comes due.”

A coalition of advocacy groups also sued the Trump administration last month over the revocation of the finding, stating that the decision would harm public health and welfare.

“Repealing the Endangerment Finding endangers all of us. People everywhere will face more pollution, higher costs, and thousands of avoidable deaths,” Peter Zalzal, a leader at the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the plaintiffs, said at the time.