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Analysis: How Trump’s rollback of vehicle fuel standards would increase US emissions
(CarbonBrief, 10 Jul 2019) The Trump administration’s plans to rollback vehicle fuel-economy standards could increase emissions from the light vehicles sector by 13%, a Carbon Brief analysis shows.
The increase could reach 85m tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2) in 2035, compared to a scenario where rising Obama-era standards remain in force.
The Trump administration plans are due to be finalised this summer and would freeze fuel standards at 2020 levels.
This move is sure to be challenged in court action led by the state of California, which has historically had the power to set its own vehicle standards and has a large number of other states following its lead. It is currently unclear if California could maintain its ability to independently regulate CO2 emissions from vehicles in the face of federal opposition.
If the standards are successfully rolled back, however, the impact could be sizeable, Carbon Brief analysis shows. The 85MtCO2 increase in annual CO2 emissions by 2035 would be equivalent to the current yearly emissions of Bangladesh.
Looming legal battle
When the Clean Air Act was passed into law in the US in 1970, California already had more stringent clean air regulations than the newly enacted national standard, the result of years of battling smog in the Los Angeles region.
CarbonBrief, 10 Jul 2019: Analysis: How Trump’s rollback of vehicle fuel standards would increase US emissions
