New York, NY - March 15, 2017 - Today, President Trump signed an executive order instructing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin rolling back federal clean car standards. The executive order begins the process to withdraw the final determination on EPA’s vehicle emission standards for 2022-2025.
“Our cars and trucks are not nearly as clean as they should be, but they're a lot cleaner than they used to be -- more than 40% less polluting than they were 20 years ago,” said Heather Leibowitz, Director of Environment New York. “Yet instead of accelerating this progress, the Trump Administration is slamming the brakes. America should be putting cars that burn too much gasoline in the rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, EPA’s order today is a green light to keep making cars that dirty our air, endanger our health and threaten our children's future.”
Tailpipe pollution from vehicles contributes to warmer temperatures and can worsen asthma symptoms, trigger asthma attacks and a host of other health impacts. New York faces $7.9 billion in health costs from vehicle pollution.
Transportation emissions are now the top contributor of global warming emissions in the United States. Environment New York has released analyses showing how clean car standards are critical to supporting a transition to zero-carbon transportation. The threatened clean cars standards protect our health, environment and pocketbooks:
- Nationally, these standards are expected to dramatically reduce climate changing emissions by 6 billion metric tons of carbon pollution.
- By 2030, these clean cars standards will reduce projected oil consumption by 2.4 million barrels of oil per day— more than the United States imports from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
- The federal standards are expected to save consumers $1.7 trillion at the pump.
The federal and state clean car standards mean cleaner air and a safer environment. 95 percent of Americans and over 1,000 health professionals across the country want automakers to keep improving fuel economy for cars and trucks, not roll them back.
After years of joint scientific and technical study by the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and California Air Resources Board, EPA found in the final determination that the standards could be strengthened. Our country has a viable path to zero-carbon transportation-- thanks in no small part to clean car standards.
“We are disappointed to see the Trump Administration take action that comes at the cost of our families’ health, security and well-being. Now, more than ever, we must charge ahead towards zero-carbon transportation, not put our most successful policies in reverse,” Leibowitz concluded.