The Trump administration has decided to revoke California’s right to set its own emissions standards for vehicles. Immediately following this, 23 states and several cities have filed a lawsuit against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NPR). President Trump, who doesn’t have a firm stance on enforcing environmental laws, is also working on replacing the federal vehicle emission standard. According to Trump’s argument, by preventing California from having its own regulation, will allow cars to be cheaper and much safer, “. . . in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER. This will lead to more production because of this pricing and safety” (Donald J. Trump Tweet). If Trump’s regulation is passed, the average price of new vehicles could reduce by $2,700, however, this number is frequently disputed by environmental groups and is double the EPA estimates from the Obama administration (The Washington Post).
Trump predicts that his proposal will allow for a cleaner and safer environment because consumers will be more likely to buy newer and safer cars. The argument is that if California sets high standards for vehicles, car companies will have to change their vehicles across the nation and make consumers pay for the change. Trump believes that with his plan, the cost will be lower for the consumer so that car manufacturers don’t have to make major changes to their products and allow for more consumers to enter the market. With consumers buying newer cars, Trump believes that with more consumers driving safer and cleaner cars this way, it will outweigh the benefits of restricting vehicles in California. However, many statistics used by the Trump administration have been questioned by the EPA environmental groups (The Washington Post).
Including California, 13 states and Washington D.C. follow California’s fuel economy standards. This is not just an issue that affects the west coast but across the United States. This intense quote from Jeff Alson truly sums up the environmental effects of this issue: “If the courts allow this unprecedented reversal, and the Trump EPA massively rolls back the federal Clean Car Standards, then President Trump will have done more to destroy the planet than any other president in history” (CNN).
Liam Meyer - Contributing Writer