The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) have drafted a proposal for overhauling the Clean Car Standards, which would freeze tailpipe pollution and fuel efficiency targets well below the target of 50 MPG by 2025.
The proposal would literally put the brakes on reducing climate pollution from tailpipes, the leading source of carbon dioxide emissions in the US. Meanwhile, major US automakers are using the lobbying power of their trade association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, to weaken tailpipe standards for cars.
The automakers, through their trade association, have been asking the Trump administration to reverse standards that would protect our children’s health, safeguard their future, and save us money at the pump. These standards are already in place, and they’re working
The proposal from EPA and NHTSA also challenges California’s ability to set its own tougher emissions standards for vehicles, something the state has been doing for years. With some of the worst air quality in the nation, California needs stricter standards than the federal government, to protect public health.
But the Trump administration now wants to take away that state’s right to clean up its air. The good news is, we’re not giving up on clean cars. In response, California and a coalition of 17 states sued the Trump administration this week over the plan.
Manufacturers can build cars that Americans are proud to drive, while saving families money at the pump, cleaning up our air, and protecting future generations from climate change. Instead, they are turning their backs on American families by lobbying to weaken those standards under the veil of their trade association.
American families want to drive clean cars. We want clean air, and we want solutions to climate change. Together, we can make it happen.