Climate Action
Action Alert: Defend Clean Vehicle Regulations
August 2, 2018
It’s official. Today Trump said he’s rolling back clean vehicle regulations and replacing them with weak rules that mean more carbon emissions and dirtier air. Trump’s proposal would also prevent states like California from passing their own more stringent standards.
Tell Trump he’s wrong! Tell Trump we want clean air, lower emissions and a future that doesn’t depend on fossil fuel.
Here are three things we know.
- Trump’s new proposal will put a lot more carbon into the atmosphere. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates it puts an extra 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2030 — that’s like adding 30 coal-fired power plants to the grid.
- Since people typically keep their cars for many years, the impacts would continue beyond 2030. An analysis by Energy Innovation found that by 2035, U.S. transportation emissions will be 11 percent higher than they would be if the Obama-era standards and California’s waiver were kept in place.
- No one is asking for this rollback. Automakers have largely embraced the new fuel standards and have benefitted from looking forward to innovative fuel-efficient technologies. Car companies have also benefitted from harmonizing their fleets with the global marketplace, as other parts of the world are still moving forward with policies that lower emissions, improve fuel economy standards and encourage more electric vehicles on the road.
