Today the Trump administration proposed a massive step backwards in fuel economy standards for US cars and light trucks. In defense of the proposal, the administration misstates facts and record egregiously on safety implications and claims the Obama standards would have “negligible” environmental benefits—all statements undercut by prior findings of their own agencies.
Jody Freeman’s op-ed about the rollback in today’s New York Times explains why this is so harmful.
“The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation moved Thursday to fulfill President Trump’s promise to undo landmark Obama-era rules requiring automakers to steadily reduce greenhouse gas pollution from cars and trucks and improve fuel efficiency through 2025.
“Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with the biggest share coming from cars and trucks. Yet the government now plans to freeze fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards indefinitely at levels set for 2020, thwarting progress on addressing climate change.”
For more on this rollback see our legal analysis, “California, CAFE Standards, and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act” and our Regulatory Rollback Tracker post on the standards.