PROTECT CLEAN AIR: Oppose Fuel-Efficiency Freeze

SUM Working Group C2A

THE ISSUE

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced plans to freeze fuel-efficiency requirements for cars and trucks through 2026, a rollback of environmental protections that Maine and other states have in place to protect citizens from harmful air pollution. Maine’s geography puts the state in the path of air pollution produced in states to the south and midwest, giving Maine the nickname of the “tailpipe” of the country. For more than a decade, Maine has been a “clean car” state, adopting some of the the strongest pollution standards in the nation. But the Trump administration’s proposal would repeal the Clean Air Act waiver, which allows states like Maine to set fuel-efficiency standards that are stricter than federal mandates. Maine’s Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor, Janet Mills, is joining 19 other states in a suit to block the rollbacks. Maine’s entire Congressional delegation has voiced opposition to the plan, joining the Natural Resources Council of Maine, American Lung Association, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

THE ACTION

• Submit a public comment opposing the Trump administration’s harmful rollbacks of fuel-efficiency standards using the talking points below. You can submit a comment on the Federal Register site or via a form on the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s website. The deadline is Oct. 23!

TALKING POINTS

• Freezing the fuel-efficiency standards to 2020 levels will double the country’s oil consumption by 2025 and triple it by 2030, costing consumers an additional $193 billion to $236 billion cumulatively between now and 2035, depending on oil prices. (Source: Rhodium Group)
• Trump’s proposal would more than double annual CO2 emissions by 2025, nearly triple them by 2030, and nearly quadruple them by 2035. (Source: Rhodium Group)
• 65% of Americans favor keeping stronger fuel-efficiency standards, including a majority of Republicans. (Source: Global Strategy Group)
• The proposed repeal of the Clean Air Act waiver violates states’ right to set regulatory limits that go further than federal regulations.
• Even automakers are opposed to a freeze on fuel-efficiency standards. (Source: Reuters)
• Learn more about the critical role fuel-efficiency standards play in reducing greenhouse emissions, boosting the economy, and job growth and how Trump’s rollback efforts began last year in our past Call to Action.