A new analysis in the journal Science, co-authored by Kenneth Gillingham of the Yale School of the Environment and nine other economists, finds that correcting one assumption in the 2026 EPA cost-benefit analysis turns the claimed benefit into a net cost. ^[1] The study calculates that correcting errors in the 2026 analysis turns the EPA's claimed $790 billion net benefit at a 3% discount rate into a $670 billion net cost. ^[2] The Trump administration rescinded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas standards for vehicles in spring 2026. ^[3] The U.S. EPA under the Trump administration said in its 2026 cost-benefit analysis that Americans would be $600 billion to $790 billion better off without vehicle emissions standards. ^[4] A study by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of the Environment, published in the journal Nature Health, found that residential air conditioning use prevents an average of over 5,260 heat-related deaths per year in the United States. ^[5] Narasimha Rao, coauthor of the study and a professor specializing in energy systems at the Yale School of the Environment, said that while some choose to turn on air conditioning, others make the uncomfortable choice to endure the heat to save money for food, highlighting that electricity costs can lead low-income families to limit AC use during severe heat episodes. ^[6] The researchers found that using air conditioning at maximum intensity provides no additional health benefits compared to average usage, but leads to higher energy consumption and potentially greater greenhouse gas emissions depending on the energy source. ^[7] The Yale researchers analyzed nearly 30 million US death records from 2010 to 2020, correlating the deaths with daily temperatures in the county where each death occurred and with household electricity consumption estimates for cooling. ^[8]