Weakening of Fuel Efficiency Standards Will Keep U.S. Companies, Workers, and Climate Efforts Trapped in the Past

WASHINGTON—Josh Freed, Vice President for Clean Energy at Third Way, was sharply critical of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to severely weaken Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards:

“The decision by Administrator Pruitt and the Trump Administration to weaken standards that keep our air cleaner, save consumers money, and encourage the auto industry to be competitive and innovative, shows contempt for American ingenuity and our leadership in the 21st century. The countries and companies that make the cleanest, most efficient, least expensive vehicles will dominate the auto markets this century. American auto manufacturers and auto workers are the best in the world, and with the right standards, we have no doubt they would win this race. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration wants to keep American industry and workers stuck in the last century. Their rollback of fuel efficiency standards that make American vehicles cleaner and more competitive in the long-run, is just the latest example of this backward-looking mentality.

"Currently, the US and Canada are the only countries cutting emissions through regulatory standards, with the European Union and China taking steps to follow our example. Maintaining current standards is an opportunity for the US to lead instead of remaining stagnant in a larger pack. As noted by the EPA in 2017, current standards would cut 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold in model years 2012-2025 as well as save families $1.7 trillion in fuel costs, and not to mention reduce America’s dependence on oil by more than 2 million barrels per day in 2025."