Donald Trump Continues Assault On Obama Climate Change Legacy With Cancelation Of Fuel Standards Deal
Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that his intention to cancel an Obama deal on fuel efficiency standards that would have dramatically cut emissions and save consumers at the pump. Trump’s move was initially reported by Reuters.
Trump tried to suggest that the cancelation of the emissions deal was an effort to get auto manufacturers to hire more Americans, essentially admitting that he will allow car companies and other corporations to hold jobs hostage in exchange for polluting the planet.
The historic standards that the Obama deal achieved was that all auto fleets would averages 54.5 miles per gallon in the 2025 model year. Donald Trump’s review of the Obama regulation applies to 2022 and 2025 car models.
The auto emissions deal was a significant portion of Barack Obama’s climate change efforts and legacy. As the New York Times noted, “The fuel-economy rules, aimed at cutting heat-trapping carbon dioxide, were one of the two main pillars of President Barack Obama’s climate change legacy.”
The Obama requirements would essentially double the average fuel economy of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
“If put fully into effect, the fuel efficiency standards would have cut oil consumption by about 12 billion barrels and reduced carbon dioxide pollution by about six billion tons over the lifetime of all the cars affected by the regulations,” the New York Times also noted.
According to the Reuters report, “The Obama administration said in 2011 the changes would boost fuel efficiency to a fleet-wide average of 54.5 mpg, save motorists $1.7 trillion in total fuel costs over the life of the vehicles and cost the auto industry about $200 billion over 13 years. The fuel standards were a central part of Obama’s legacy on addressing climate change.?
