Trump administration releases destructive rollback of clean car standards

Today, the Trump administration released its proposal to rollback clean car standards – freezing fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles at 2020 levels for five years.

It has been estimated that these changes will result in burning 200 billion more gallons of oil through 2040 and the release of an additional 2.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases.

This rollback is an enormously destructive step in the wrong direction. It is among the most damaging of the many measures the Trump administration has taken that will increase pollution, which harms our health and contributes to extreme weather and climate change,” said Trip Pollard, senior attorney and leader of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Land and Community Program. “And it will cost consumers more at the pump.

Less obvious is the chilling effect this change would have on planning future transportation projects.

State and local transportation plans and project reviews often rely on the increased fuel economy and reduced pollution that would result from the very standards the administration wants to scrap. Today’s proposal calls those plans into question, which is especially a problem in fast-growing regions in the Southeast where it could delay needed infrastructure projects and limit business and job expansion in areas with air quality issues.