Tyler Chalfant | April 1st, 2020

On Tuesday, the Trump administration weakened Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. Over the past three years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled back numerous efforts to combat climate change, but the rules compelling companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles were considered to be the federal government’s strongest attempt to combat the climate crisis yet.

The change lowers the rate at which auto companies are required to improve efficiency each year from 4.7% to 1.5%. This falls well below the 2.4% increase per year that the industry has said it would make even without regulations. 

Changing these standards will allow vehicles to emit about one billion tons more carbon-dioxide, equal to about a fifth of U.S. annual emissions. Critics warn that Americans will also be exposed to more dangerous air pollution as a result, and will be forced to spend more on gasoline. Communities near oil-processing facilities and highways, which often consist of poorer Americans and people of color, will face the worst effects.

The EPA argues that the change will make automobiles cheaper, allowing more Americans to buy newer, safer cars. Although the EPA has previously found that the benefits outweigh the costs of the Obama-era rules, they now argue the opposite by citing a more recent study that researchers say is fundamentally flawed.