In a major setback to pollution control efforts, U.S. President on Thursday eliminated vehicle emission standards for cars and trucks in the country. The president has revoked a landmark 2009 scientific finding, which was the basis for imposing federal tailpipe emission norms. The White House hailed the move as the “single largest deregulatory action in American history”.
The decision, announced on 12 February alongside Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, eliminates the “Endangerment Finding” and wipes out all related greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for cars, lorries, and other vehicles.
“Under the process just completed by the EPA, we are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding, a disastrous Obama-era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and drove up prices for American consumers,” President Trump said. As per the Environmental Protection Agency, the Obama-era endangerment finding had relied on an incorrect interpretation of federal clean air laws.
President Trump, speaking in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, called the original finding “a disastrous Obama-era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and massively drove up prices for American consumers”.
EPA Administrator Zeldin supported him, claiming the repeal would save American taxpayers more than $1.3 trillion (£1 trillion) by removing regulatory burdens. The administration estimates it will lower the average cost of a new vehicle by about $2,400 (£1,900) by removing emission related equipment. This a good news for the American auto industry.
At the heart of the announcement is the 2009 Endangerment Finding, a formal determination by the EPA that six key greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), “endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations”.
The finding, issued in December 2009 also included a “Cause or Contribute” determination, that emissions of these gases from new motor vehicles and engines contribute to the air pollution threatening public health and welfare. This dual ruling served as the legal basis for all subsequent federal regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.
The revocation now eliminates all federal greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines for model years 2012 through 2027 and beyond. This includes rules introduced under Presidents Obama and Biden that progressively tightened tailpipe limits, effectively pushing manufacturers towards more efficient petrol and diesel engines – and, in later years, greater numbers of electric vehicles.
The administration has also scrapped associated compliance programmes, credit systems, and reporting requirements, including “off-cycle” credits for features such as automatic start-stop technology.
This is the latest in the several moves by Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce air pollution caused by fossil fuels. He has eliminated tax credits for electric vehicles and effectively stopped the installation of new solar and wind farms in the United States. He has been encouraging the industry and people to move back to fossil fuels from electricity.
The president also ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity produced by coal-fired thermal plants. He directed the Department of War to “prioritize long-term Power Purchase Agreements with America’s beautiful, clean coal fleet to ensure military installations and critical defense facilities”.
After coming back to power last year, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation.
