Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told Bloomberg News that he does not plan to extend clean car standards implemented by the Obama administration past 2025. He also suggested that he would not allow California to issue their own, stricter standards to manage air quality within the state, though he’d previously claimed that the state’s waiver to do so would be protected. California’s existing standards have helped drive cleaner cars forward for the entire country.
Transportation is the single largest and fastest growing source of emissions in the U.S., and these standards are the nation’s largest-ever effort to reduce climate pollution. By 2025, they are expected to save nearly 12 billion barrels of oil and save Americans up to $122 billion.
In response, Sierra Club Deputy Legislative Director Andrew Linhardt released the following statement:
“Not only does Scott Pruitt want to put the brakes on these important standards, he’s even going so far as to try to limit a state’s right to manage air pollution within its own borders. These clean car standards are popular among the public, and they’re working. Rolling them back would increase air pollution, threaten our climate, and cost American consumers. The only people who would benefit from this backwards policy are car manufacturing executives who want to put America’s climate progress in reverse.”
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.