EPA close to finish line on rolling back auto emissions standards

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit a major milestone today in its move to roll back auto emissions standards that would have had a major impact in lowering the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the EPA's move reportedly sets it up for conflict with California, the only state in the nation that has an exemption from the EPA's greenhouse gas rules under the Clean Air Act.

According to The New York Times, today the EPA formally submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget its proposal to roll back the fuel economy rules that former President Obama signed off on in the last months of his presidency. The rules would have pushed automakers to keep reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of their vehicles out to 2025.

Soon after President Trump took office, automakers complained to the administration that complying with the EPA's greenhouse gas standards would be too costly, despite having taken part in the negotiations that led to the Obama administration's fuel economy standards. But critics said the auto industry was overplaying the potential harm. A third-party study from the International Council on Clean Transportation found that the technology needed to achieve the 2025 fuel economy standards was even more cost-effective than it had been when the Obama-era standards were negotiated.

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