Biden Reverses Trump Environmental Sabotage Of Clean Air

0
957

The Biden administration is continuing to rack up wins for the American people. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — as led at present by Biden pick Michael Regan — has put forward rules that are set to demand that certain light-duty vehicles, including cars, hit a standard of 40 miles per gallon over the upcoming five years or so. In stark contrast, the Trump administration set up rules to require a standard of just 32 miles per gallon in these vehicles, but making the vehicles more fuel-efficient will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions — and costs to consumers at gas pumps, among other benefits.

Notably, the final rules that the EPA has unveiled are stricter than an initially proposed set of rules that the Biden administration put out earlier this year. A press release from the EPA refers to the new rules as “the most ambitious federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks ever” — so while certain observers might proclaim doom and gloom for the Biden team, its list of accomplishments is growing. The press release adds that the new standards, which will cover vehicles from model years 2023 through 2026, “leverage advances in clean car technology to unlock $190 billion in net benefits to Americans, including reducing climate pollution, improving public health, and saving drivers money at the pump.”

As Regan commented:

‘The final rule for light duty vehicles reflects core principles of this Administration: We followed the science, we listened to stakeholders, and we are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet – and save families money at the same time. At EPA, our priority is to protect public health, especially in overburdened communities, while responding to the President’s ambitious climate agenda. Today we take a giant step forward in delivering on those goals, while paving the way toward an all-electric, zero-emissions transportation future.’

The same press release from the EPA also notes that the new emissions rules are “grounded in a rigorous assessment of current and future technologies with supporting analysis that shows the standards are achievable and affordable.” Through the year 2050 — a few decades down the line — the rules are set to keep more than 3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions from getting into the atmosphere, which adds up to over half of the carbon dioxide emissions across the U.S. in all of 2019. Through 2050, the EPA says that American drivers are estimated to be on track to save hundreds of billions of dollars in fuel costs — between $210 billion and $420 billion, to be exact — with the new standards in place. In other words, there are wins all around. Check out more at this link.