This week, Toyota, Chrysler, and GM joined the Trump Administration in an effort to dangerously weaken their responsibilities to develop clean cars — and to fight the strong standards in California and thirteen other states. This is shameful political pandering.
We hand over the keys to the cars to our teenagers — and we want to know they’re as clean and efficient as possible, given that they are the ones who will be inheriting the dangerous global warming fuel-thirsty cars cause.
Pollution from the transportation sector is a huge contributor to climate change. But it also creates air pollution that makes it difficult for children to breathe. Traffic pollution exacerbates respiratory problems like asthma, leading to more days of school missed, more hospital visits, and less time spent just being a kid — especially for children living in urban areas.
Individual states are fighting back against Trump’s dangerous rollback to greenhouse gas efficiency standards. But now the Trump administration is working to prevent states from passing their own clean car standards.
GM, Chrysler, and Toyota couldn’t have picked a more indecent time to tromp on states’ rights — as California is burning from unprecedented wildfires and wants to do all it can to stop destructive global warming.
These car companies are standing on the wrong side of history. In the past, automakers have pledged to support clean car standards, moving the industry forward to preserve a safe future for our kids.