Trump administration is driving to endanger our planet

Rolling back clean car standards would hit the brakes on addressing climate change

Environment America

This week, the Trump administration will hold three public hearings on the proposed rollback of the federal clean car standards. Environment America will join everyday Americans and advocates in Fresno, Calif.; Dearborn, Mich.; and Pittsburgh, Penn. to oppose the attempt to weaken the nation’s best climate change mitigation program.

If fully implemented, this regressive move would eliminate the existing clean car standards, which are cutting future carbon emissions more effectively than any other federal policy. If maintained, the standards would double fuel economy and cut global warming pollution in half for cars sold in 2025. The transportation sector is now the country’s largest source of climate-altering carbon pollution.

Andrea McGimsey, Senior Director of Global Warming Solutions at Environment America, released the following statement:

“We should be accelerating progress on clean cars, not hitting the brakes. The clean car standards are the single greatest action the U.S. has taken to date to address global warming, and rolling them back would be a massive blow to the environment and public health.

“Already, global warming is endangering communities around the country, fueling massive storms such as Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and causing severe flooding, not to mention collateral threats to public health from leaking coal ash and hog waste pits. Americans deserve less pollution, not more.

“On top of this federal rollback, the administration has also proposed revoking states’ abilities to set stronger clean car standards. If the federal government will not protect clean air and a stable climate, states must be allowed to act to protect the health of their citizens.

“The EPA should be acting to protect public health and the environment. We need to step up and move forward to clean up our cars, not halt our progress.”