Trump Looks To Undo Fuel Efficiency Standards

[Rhiannon12866]

The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to gut fuel efficiency standards for U.S. cars and light trucks, one of the signature achievements of the Obama era.

The EPA has readied a final determination that calls for the rolling back of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, according to the Wall Street Journal. The current standards would require automakers to sell vehicles that average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

This move by the White House will likely be subjected to litigation. Putting regulations in place requires a lot of legwork and several years of procedure. Undoing them is not all that much easier.

The CAFE standards are a fleet-wide average, which means that a company, such as Ford, can still sell vehicles that do not meet the fuel efficiency standard so long as their entire fleet averages out to that level. So, for every inefficient SUV that the company sells, it will need to also sell a lighter car, a hybrid, an EV, or simply a more efficient SUV, to raise the fleet average.

However, carmakers are now trying to argue that it will be difficult to achieve the tighter fuel efficiency standards because cheap gasoline has led to a resurgence of interest in SUVs and pick-up trucks.

To complicate matters further, California has long held a waiver from the EPA to set its own standards, a quirk that dates back to the state’s smoggy days from decades ago. California, unlike other states, can set tighter standards than federal law dictates. As a result, California has the ability to lead the nation in tightening fuel efficiency, dragging the rest of the country along.


More: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Trump-Looks-To-Undo-Fuel-Efficiency-Standards.html

[Duppers]

1. Don't know what's greater, his ignorance or his ego.

Anything to undo what the last real president did.



I'm using this icon a lot lately.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. It's unbelievable!

And we know that the public supports initiatives that combat climate change, but Trump seems determined to undo whatever progress we made despite Republican obstruction of Obama. I read the encouraging story about the solar project and then saw a link to this one on the same page. My most used smilie these days is now this one --->

[John Fante]

3. Trump is definitely bring that revolution, huh?

Things are really, you know, exploding.

[MichMan]

4. Why do consumers shun ZEV and keep buying SUV and Trucks like crazy?