The Trump administration is poised to officially undo the Obama administration’s push for more fuel-efficient vehicles with its own watered-down guidelines and terminate efforts by California and numerous other states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the final version of this regulatory rollback, expected to be released Tuesday, the administration stepped back from a total freeze of Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules it earlier proposed, the New York Times reported Monday. But the 1.5% annual improvement falls far below what was previously required. The result is a lucrative victory for the oil and gas industry and a major setback to U.S. companies and consumers working to contain the consequences of climate change. The decision comes against the backdrop of the widening coronavirus pandemic that has brought auto production to a halt, at least temporarily, in the U.S. Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research and a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry, called the new rules “the single most important thing that the administration can do to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise of reforming the regulatory state.”
Environmental groups lashed out at the move. “Of all the bad things President Trump has done to the environment, this is the worst,” said Dan Becker, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Safe Climate Campaign. “He is rolling back the biggest single step any nation has taken to fight global warming, cut oil use and save money at the pump.” To view the full article visit Forbes.