Today, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin issued a statement announcing that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will weaken two federal vehicle emission standards. These existing federal standards are based on the best-available science, and are projected to reduce climate warming emissions, improve air quality and give consumers an expanded variety of clean vehicles to choose from that could save them thousands of dollars. The administration’s attack on these standards shows yet again that it is more interested in helping the oil industry profit than it is in protecting the well-being of hard-working people across the United States.
Administrator Zeldin’s announcement calls for the reconsideration of Model Year 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles regulation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles, as well as a re-evaluation of the 2022 Heavy-Duty Nitrous Oxide (NOx) rule.
Below is a statement from Steven Higashide, director of the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“Rolling back these standards is reckless, dangerous and will harm ordinary people. Strong vehicle policies including those targeted by President Trump are crucial to reducing climate-warming emissions, making progress on improving air quality and reducing transportation costs. Weakening these standards will result in higher levels of harmful pollutants that have been linked to respiratory and heart conditions and premature death, increasing national health costs by billions of dollars. It would also significantly set the U.S. back in meeting its climate targets and increase the cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle by thousands of dollars.
“The science is clear: These common sense vehicle standards are crucial to putting the country on the path to cleaner air and a more stable climate. At the end of the day all of us will bear the cost of the administration’s decision to prioritize the interests of its political allies and the oil industry above the well-being of people and the planet.
“UCS strongly opposes these rollbacks and we call on the administration to maintain strong, science-based policies that protect public health and the future viability of the planet.”