Larisa Manescu larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- According to a government official, the Trump administration has ended any negotiations with California air regulators over the Clean Car Standards, confirming its intent on revoking California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act to adopt its own greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles. These standards have been adopted by 13 states and the District of Columbia which, together with California, represent over 40 percent of the car market in the United States. This announcement came on the same day as a letter signed by 200 state legislators, representing California and all the states that have followed its lead, urging automakers to oppose the proposed rollback and stand up for the life-saving and money-saving Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas standards for light-duty vehicles.
Adopted under the Obama administration, these widely popular standards are estimated to limit global warming pollution by 6 billion tons, save consumers $1.7 trillion dollars in fuel costs, and reduce oil consumption by up to 4 million barrels a day.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“The Art of Trump’s Deal seems to be to scrap a widely-supported, agreed-upon standard, pretend to negotiate in good faith, if at all, and then fail. This masquerade of ‘negotiations’ would not have been necessary if the Trump administration was not set on going against the will of the people to roll back progress on our nation’s strongest climate standards to date. California is defending its right to establish stronger standards and, together with the states that have adopted its standards, is taking action into its own hands for clean air. There is no legal or technical basis for Trump to roll back these standards and threaten California’s authority, just like there is no good reason for a lot of the reckless, dangerous moves that he has made these past two years to let polluting industries to have their way at the expense of the environment and public health.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.