Press Statement  AG Healey Statement in Response to EPA’s Rollback of Critical Federal Vehicle Emissions Standards

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the following statement in response to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s announcement that the agency will rollback critical federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light-duty trucks:

“These common sense rules have done more than any other measure to increase miles per gallon, improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, and save drivers money on gas. Scott Pruitt has once again illegally handed EPA decision-making over to climate-deniers and fossil-fuel lobbyists, while sticking the American people with dirtier air and higher prices at the pump. Since the public can no longer depend on the EPA to protect their interests, we are working with our state partners to defend the rule.”

BACKGROUND:

Globally, the transportation sector is the fastest growing source of dangerous greenhouse gas pollution. Cars and light duty trucks make up 60 percent of the country’s transportation sector and are the main driver for U.S. dependence on oil, including foreign imports. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector has surpassed the electric power sector and is now the nation’s largest source of carbon dioxide emissions. 

Under the federal Clean Air Act, EPA is required to establish national standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. In 2010, EPA adopted such standards for new passenger cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2017-2025 and beyond.

The 2022-2025 standards that are slated to be rolled back would slash carbon emissions by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 540 million metric tons, the equivalent of removing 422 million cars from the road, as well as improve vehicles’ fuel economy – resulting in net benefits of nearly $100 billion total, including a net savings of $1,650 for each consumer over the lifetime of a new vehicle.

In January 2017, EPA determined, in its “midterm evaluation,” that the 2022-25 standards are readily achievable by the auto industry. After an extensive technical review, based in significant part on information from industry, advocates, and other interested parties, EPA found that “automakers are well positioned to meet the standards at lower costs than previous estimated.”

In March 2017, President Trump issued an executive order directing the agencies to reconsider the standards for model years 2022-2025. In June, AG Healey and 13 other attorneys general sent a letter to Pruitt threatening legal action if he moved forward with rolling back the standards.