Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized stronger fuel economy standards that will improve the gas mileage of vehicles and slash climate emissions and air pollution.
Last year, a diverse coalition of environmental, health, environmental justice, and consumer groups pushed the agency to finalize the strongest rule feasible, without loopholes, in order to move the market and require automakers to make more efficient vehicles. The public comment period garnered over 50,000 comments, and over a hundred people spoke at a public hearing in October about why this rule was significant and needed to be strengthened. In response, NHTSA increased its standards from its proposal.
Increasing the fuel economy of cars is extremely popular with consumers. A 2020 Consumer Reports survey found that 94 percent of Americans who were planning to buy or lease a vehicle in the next two years said that fuel economy is important to them, with 64 percent saying that it was “extremely important” or “very important” to them when considering what vehicle to get next.
In response to NHTSA’s final rule, Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz released the following statement:
“We appreciate NHTSA for moving forward today with this first step on fuel economy standards that will improve gas mileage and help conserve energy, while also driving down vehicle emissions and protecting public health. Now more than ever families across the United States are feeling the burden of high gas prices at the pump, exposing the volatile, expensive, and toxic hold that gas-powered vehicles have on American families.
“Shifting to cleaner vehicles and a transportation system free of oil consumption is good for our climate, our wallets, and our lungs. We need policies like this regulation, and much more, to get the automotive industry to be manufacturing 100% zero-emission cars. We urge NHTSA to get moving on the strongest possible long-term standards that rapidly increase fuel economy along the way to zero-emission vehicles to protect our communities by addressing the nation’s top source of pollution.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.