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Brady Dennis
A journalist specializing in environmental policy and public health issues
Last minute push by automakers seems unlikely to prevent the Trump government from abandoning Barack Obama's climate policy to improve mileage standards for cars and light trucks, two government officials said Friday .
The administration's plan to freeze federal fuel economy requirements for six years and to end California's ability to set its own standards has created uncertainty in the auto market and sparked prospect of a long legal battle between federal officials and the country's largest state.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Transportation are finalizing a proposal this summer that would set federal car standards at about 37 miles per gallon, instead of bringing them to nearly 51 miles per gallon for 2025 models. The rule would also revoke California's current waiver of its own rules under the Clean Air Act, a practice that the federal government has sanctioned for decades.
On Thursday 17, US and foreign companies sent a letter to California's President and Governor Gavin Newsom (D) urging them to "revive" the talks to avoid harming the industry and the public. US consumers. They warned that only a nationally agreed set of rules would avoid "a long period of litigation and instability, which could prove as unsustainable as the current program".
White House officials, however, rejected car manufacturers' demand Thursday, saying there was no prospect of further talks with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The two government officials, who were informed of the discussions, spoke of the condition of anonymity to describe the internal deliberations.
"As we recognized earlier this year, CARB has not proposed a productive alternative and we are finalizing a rule to promote safer, cleaner and more affordable vehicles. "White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email.
Administration officials said the country needed to readjust the emissions targets, as consumers preferred bigger and less fuel-efficient vehicles than those initially envisioned by regulators, and maintained in place would encourage Americans to drive older and less safe vehicles.
In 2009, the Obama administration reached an agreement with automakers and California authorities to establish the first-ever standards for reducing carbon emissions for vehicles. Limiting car carbon production and improving fuel efficiency reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, helping to slow the pace of climate change.
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In February, CARB officials said that the administration had interrupted communications before Christmas and had neither responded to the government's proposals nor offered its own.
An assistant to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), said the state was still committed to upholding the standards that California, automakers and the federal government had agreed to meet in 2009. Thirteen states and the Federal District of Columbia have decided to adopt any exhaust pipe. California standards defines.
In their letter to the governor of California, automakers wrote: "We know that reaching an agreement has been a challenge, but the stakes are too high and the benefits too important to accept the status quo."
Trump officials have often presented their deregulation agenda as an effort to create more certainty for US companies and to empower more states rather than the federal government.
But some critics argue that the Administration Administration's proposal would not achieve any of these goals. California's power to set its own standards dates back to the 1967 legislation and was reaffirmed whenever Congress amended the law.
"The deeply cynical version of Trump's state rights to the EPA does not include the fundamental rights of states – long guaranteed under the Air Quality Act – to protect human rights. million residents against the harmful pollution of the exhaust pipes, "said Chester France, consultant for Environmental Defense Fund. a former official of the EPA.
Critics say the proposed freeze would benefit the oil and gas industry and would cost more consumers at the pump. They also warned that a legal battle with California could lead to an upheaval in the US auto market, in the event that automakers are forced to meet different standards in different states.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was the only major automaker not to sign the sector letters for another round of negotiations. In a statement, the automaker said its position had not changed since last fall, when an officer testified that the company was "in favor of continued improvements in the park's fuel consumption," but that Decision makers had to take into account the "realities" of the automotive market changed over time.
White House officials had lobbied automakers in late February to support the rule developed by the administration, according to several senior administration officials, and had brought back some companies on an individual basis to solicit additional information. But as it became clear that the administration was progressing with its initial plan, many manufacturers decided to make a more public statement.
Senator Thomas R. Carper of Delaware, the largest Democrat on the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, urged the industry to work directly with California given the government's position.
"Although it is not useless for the automotive industry to have sent this letter, we are now at the 11th hour and I fear that it will not be long before the situation is reestablished. and that the thoughtless regression of the administration is finalized, "he said.
Bill Becker, president of Becker Environmental Consulting, said in an email that the industry's "Hail Mary" pass would make no difference.
"The automaker's efforts are too few and too late to prevent the Trump government from eviscerating Obama's own car standards," Becker said. "The Trump proposal, if passed, will contribute to tens of thousands of premature deaths and millions of cases of serious illness, compromise states' compliance with the air quality law and will have serious consequences. consequences for businesses. "
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