Don’s fuel-ish new plan
Wants to end Obama’s gas mileage standards for cars
This is exhausting.
The Trump administration is taking the express lane toward scaling back Obamaera fuel efficiency rules for car makers and stripping California of its ability to determine its own vehicle regulations for greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposed rollback announced Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency would freeze a rule mandating that automakers make cars substantially more fuel-efficient and require fewer electric vehicles as more people continue to drive gas-guzzling vehicles.
The Trump administration claims its proposed changes will save Americans about $2,000 on every new vehicle purchased and, somehow, avoid 1,000 road deaths a year.
The current EPA and DOT, in defending Trump’s latest deregulation efforts, argue that forcing automakers to build cleaner cars will lead to more highway accidents and deaths.
They believe that people who do not buy new cars due to rising costs under the old rule will risk injury and death because new model cars will be even safer than the cars currently on the road.
The public will have 60 days to provide feedback on the rollback after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
Environmental groups are highly skeptical of the administration’s claims.
“Rolling back the Clean Car Standards is one of the most significant attacks on clean air and climate action in history, and, Donald Trump is making it clear his mantra is pollution over everything,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said Thursday in a statement. “The clean car standards and the right of states to protect their residents enjoy overwhelming support and are backed by numerous scientific studies.”
Even auto industry groups were hesitant to embrace the administration’s accelerated attempt to undo one of former President Barack Obama’s signature environmental moves, with many calling for a more balanced approach.
A pair of auto trade groups representing GM, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and other companies said in a statement Thursday that despite the proposed freeze of fuel efficiency standards, “automakers support continued improvements in fuel economy and flexibilities that incentivize advanced technologies while balancing priorities like affordability, safety, jobs and the environment.”
The Obama auto emissions standards were adopted in 2012 with broad support from automakers, unions and environmental groups.
Since then, drivers have saved more than $57 billion on gasoline thanks to the higher standards and have reduced emissions by 228 million metric tons, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The Trump administration’s proposal would freeze miles-per-gallon targets in 2020. It would also move to end California’s current power to set its own, higher standards.
The move is Trump’s latest attack on environmental initiatives instituted by his predecessor. Last year, the President withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, which pushes signatories to reduce their carbon output.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced her intent Thursday to challenge the plan.