Undermining Clean Car Standards Will Hurt Jobs, Add Climate Pollution, and Cost Americans Money

(Washington, D.C. – February 12, 2018) The Trump Administration is planning to slash fuel economy and pollution standards for America’s future cars, according to news reports.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reportedly considering lowering our national Clean Car Standards – from a goal of 49.7 miles per gallon by 2026, to only 35.7 miles per gallon by 2026. That would effectively stall progress on better fuel economy standards, cost American families money, and add more than 100 million additional tons of dangerous climate pollution into our air each year by 2030.

“The Clean Car Standards save American families money, protect their health, and support the innovation that creates jobs and helps us compete globally,” said Jason Mathers, EDF Director of On Road Vehicles. “At a time when other countries are proposing to move away from internal combustion cars altogether, we should be racing to create the technologies and the cars of the future. Instead, the Trump Administration seems to be taking us down a dead end road.”

News reports say the Trump Administration is considering the rollback to help auto makers. However, every top auto company is currently touting major advances in clean technologies.

The Clean Car Standards will save the average American family more than $8,000 dollars on gas over the lifetime of their car, reduce our oil consumption by billions of barrels, and reduce the pollution that causes climate change.

The Clean Car Standards have also spurred efforts to create electric or other zero emission vehicles, at a time when countries including Great Britain, France and India have announced plans to stop selling gas and diesel-powered cars in the next decade or two. Rolling back the standards will put U.S. businesses, and jobs, at a global disadvantage.