The Illinois Environmental Council issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s rollback of Clean Car Standards:
SPRINGFIELD, IL – In the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Trump administration just finalized their brazen rollback of clean car standards. This move will harm public health by increasing air pollution, introduce more uncertainty into our struggling economy, and stick drivers with a $40 billion dollar bill. In the longer term, it will generate 900 million metric tons of carbon pollution.
Clean car standards make our cars more efficient, allowing us to drive the same distances for less gas, which means less money. Since they were created, these standards have saved Illinois families over $1.3 billion at the pump, with the average household saving about $250. As many Illinoisans face unemployment and tightening budgets, these savings are crucial.
While state and local officials are rightly focused on confronting the COVID-19 crisis, the Trump administration and their polluter allies have been busy undermining public protections, which will harm communities of color and low-wealth communities disproportionately.
This rollback of clean car standards comes two days after the U.S. EPA announced it was putting a freeze on enforcing regulations, thereby abdicating its primary responsibility. Simply put, our communities need more protection from toxic air pollution that threatens our lungs and hearts right now, not less.