Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, and other major automakers dropped their support for the Trump administration’s attack on California’s clean car standards, after a year of pressure from environmental, clean air, consumer and faith advocates. This move comes after the Biden administration took action yesterday to freeze the litigation over California’s waiver.
However, the auto trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation today also suggested it will continue to support federal clean car standards weaker than the ones set during the Obama administration, a step backwards for climate action.
In response to the announcement, Katherine Garcia, Deputy Director of National Policies for Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, released the following statement:
"Today’s announcement is a win for the hundreds of thousands of activists that have been pushing car companies that sided with Trump to change their course, act on climate, and defend California’s long-standing authority to regulate vehicle emissions. But what comes next is crucial. Automakers peeling off like dominos from Trump’s misguided and dangerous lawsuits don’t deserve praise for doing the bare minimum.
“All automakers must support strong federal clean car standards beyond what the Trump Administration rolled back. Instead of clinging to the past, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation must go beyond the ruins of the last administration’s rollbacks and help build back policies that protect our communities for decades to come.”
Background on the significance of California’s waiver:
The Trump administration had two significant rollbacks of clean car standards. In one, the EPA revoked California's Clean Air Act waiver for greenhouse gases, which gave the state the legal authority to set tougher tailpipe pollution rules than those of the federal government. In the second, EPA and NHTSA significantly weakened the greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for cars established by former President Obama.
California’s waiver also requires auto manufacturers to sell increasing numbers of electric vehicles in the state. EPA’s revocation of California’s waiver has wide-reaching implications - it also affects the population in 14 states plus D.C. that have adopted these stronger restrictions on pollution from cars, 11 of which also have adopted the Zero Emission Vehicle standards. The clean car standards protect the environment and the public health of more than 118 million people, upwards of 40 percent of the U.S. population.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.