Washington Watch: Pay More, Pollute More
Once again, the Trump Administration has adopted a rule change to gut a common-sense pollution control—in this case, the clean car standards that reduce air pollution and save consumers billions of dollars a year in gas consumption.
The proposed changes would freeze federal auto efficiency standards at current levels through 2026, halting the ongoing progress toward more efficient vehicles which produce less climate-altering pollution. The changes would also attempt to take away California’s existing authority to set and enforce stronger auto emissions standards—tougher standards which have also been adopted by more than a dozen other states.
League of Conservation Voters (LCV) senior vice president Tiernan Sittenfeld observed, “This proposal makes clear that just like Scott Pruitt, Andrew Wheeler is full speed ahead for corporate polluters. The Clean Car Standards have saved drivers more than $60 billion while helping clean up our air and fight climate change. Gutting this innovation-spurring policy is nothing more than a transparent sellout to Big Oil, and we will fight the Trump administration at every step.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is among the groups conducting a citizen advocacy campaign in opposition to these harmful changes. NRDC points out that these “Clean car standards are at the heart of U.S. efforts to fight climate change and global warming. They’re also good for drivers, manufacturers, and the economy. Rolling them back would be disastrous across the board.”
