President Trump has proposed a proposal to ease regulations governing car manufacturers’ ability to regulate pollution from gasoline-powered vehicles and trucks.
On Wednesday, the plan was revealed. The 2031 model year’s fuel economy requirements, which establish guidelines for how far new cars must travel on a gallon (3. 8 litres) of gasoline, would be significantly reduced if finalized next year.
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According to officials, the regulations will give Americans more access to the full line of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford. According to the administration, the new standards will set the average mileage for light-duty vehicles in the fleet for the model year 2031 set at roughly 34.5 miles (65. 5 km/gallon). That frees up car manufacturers to produce more profitable vehicles, such as sports utility vehicles.
The Trump administration’s latest move is to reverse policies that promoted cleaner-running vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs), from the era of former Democratic President Joe Biden. The US has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions emissions, followed by burning gasoline in vehicles.
Top executives from the three largest US automakers, who have praised the planned changes, were present for Trump’s announcement at a White House event. The Biden-era rules have been challenging to adhere to, according to the auto industry.
Trump has repealed fines for automakers who do not adhere to federal mileage standards, as well as repealing consumer credits worth up to $7,500 for purchases of electric vehicles since taking office in January.
split response
The planned rollback was “a win for customers and common sense,” according to Ford CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
We applaud President Trump’s efforts to align market realities with fuel economy standards as America’s largest auto producer. While still giving customers choice and affordability, Farley claimed that we can make real progress in carbon emissions and energy efficiency.
Antonio Filosa, the automaker’s CEO, expressed gratitude for the administration’s efforts to “realign” the standards “with real-world market conditions.”
Environmentalists decried the choice.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign director, Dan Becker, claimed that Trump is “in one stroke worsening three of our nation’s most perplexing issues: the need for oil, high gas prices, and global warming.”
According to Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program, “Gutting the]petrol-mileage program will make American families burn more cash and cars burn more gas.”
She said, “This rollback would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come, and putting a health risk on millions of Americans, especially children and the elderly,” in danger.
According to the Trump administration, major carmakers will reduce their technology costs by more than $35 billion through 2031 as a result of a general rollback of standards for fuel economy.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), General Motors would save $8.7 billion between 2027 and 2031, while Stellantis, owned by Ford and Chrysler, would each save more than $5 billion. Hyundai would save $4.6bn, Subaru $3.8bn, and Toyota $2.3bn, it said.
However, according to the NHTSA, fuel costs for drivers are expected to rise, and US drivers are projected to spend up to $85 billion more through 2050.
False EV claims
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an “EV mandate,” incorrectly referring to Biden’s goal of having half of all new car sales by 2030. In the US in 2024, EV sales accounted for roughly 8% of new vehicle sales, according to Cox Automotive.
Although California and other states have passed laws mandating that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035, no federal policy has ever required auto companies to sell EVs. Trump and congressional Republicans earlier this year blocked the California law.
Soon after taking office, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his organization to revers the corporate average fuel economy requirements that are currently in place. He claimed in June that the calculations that were made under Biden included using electric vehicles. EVs don’t use gasoline. The traffic safety agency was given the authority to change the requirements after the June rule revision.
By 2031, automakers would be required to travel an average of 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gasoline, compared to the current average of about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon.
Additionally, the Biden administration increased the fuel economy requirements for light-duty vehicles from 2027 to 2031 by 2 percent annually, and for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. It called for stringent tailpipe regulations to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles at the same time.
According to the NHTSA’s calculations for 2024, 14 billion gallons of gasoline would have been saved from burning by 2050.
Cars could produce 22, 111 more tonnes of carbon dioxide annually than they could before, according to the Biden-era regulations, if they were to be abandoned in 2035. Additionally, there will be an additional 90 tons of deadly soot particles and more than 4,870 tons of volatile organic carbons entering the air in the upcoming years.
Since the energy crisis of the 1970s, mileage regulations have been in place, and automakers have gradually increased their vehicles’ average efficiency.
Source: Aljazeera
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