PennEnvironment Statement: Clean cars rollback by Trump administration will worsen climate crisis

PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center

PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today finalized the rule to rewrite and dramatically weaken the federal clean car standards, which were initially set to double fuel economy and would have cut global warming pollution in half for cars sold in 2025. The weaker standards will set back climate progress and could result in more than 900 million additional metric tons of global warming pollution in our atmosphere. Transportation pollution is already the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, and this rollback will further contribute to climate change while also worsening our air quality and threatening our health right here in Pennsylvania. 

Flora Cardoni, Climate Defender Campaign Director for PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, issued the following statement: 

“As the unprecedented public health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus worsens, the Trump administration is nevertheless recklessly weakening clean car standards that protect our climate, our air, and our health across Pennsylvania. 

“The administration’s action on this issue is an abandonment of science, reason, and responsibility. It’s also unlawful. We’ve already joined two lawsuits challenging part one of the rollback, which revoked Pennsylvania’s, and 12 other states’ ability to set stricter emissions standards, in court, and we are considering legal action in this case as well. 

“When the coronavirus crisis subsides, the climate crisis will not. It will continue to accelerate every day that we postpone proactive measures. The Trump administration should drop this appalling plan and instead focus its energy on protecting the health and well-being of Americans.”

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PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center is dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we share, and win real results for our environment. For more information, visit www.pennenvironmencenter.org.