Photo: greenbiz.com
With the eyes of the world focused elsewhere, the current American administration is continuing its efforts to undo the Obama-era decisions it views as being wrong. This Tuesday, it was the turn of the fuel economy standards set by the former president.
With the release of the new standards, the American government strikes a serious blow to what is perceived as being a nationwide effort to fight climate change. As per the new provisions, which are expected to come into effect later this spring, carmakers will be asked to increase the fuel economy of their fleets by 1.5 percent each year, until 2026, when they should be averaging about 40 mpg.
The new rules are somewhat better than what was initially proposed, which was zero increase at one point, but far worse than the Obama-era rules. The previous administration was asking for a 5 percent increase per year and an average of 54 mpg in 2025.
The new regulations are expected to be fought by several states where regulations are already stricter, especially by California. In November last year, the state announced it would stop buying new cars for official state use if they are manufactured by GM, Toyota, FCA, and several others, all backing the new regulations.
Barack Obama, despite being almost constantly under attack by Donald Trump, steered clear so far from engaging the current pesident in any way, but on Tuesday he took to Twitter to criticize the decision, the ones who made it, and to advise people to vote better next time, comparing the looming climate crisis with the current coronavirus pandemic.
The new rules are somewhat better than what was initially proposed, which was zero increase at one point, but far worse than the Obama-era rules. The previous administration was asking for a 5 percent increase per year and an average of 54 mpg in 2025.
The new regulations are expected to be fought by several states where regulations are already stricter, especially by California. In November last year, the state announced it would stop buying new cars for official state use if they are manufactured by GM, Toyota, FCA, and several others, all backing the new regulations.
Barack Obama, despite being almost constantly under attack by Donald Trump, steered clear so far from engaging the current pesident in any way, but on Tuesday he took to Twitter to criticize the decision, the ones who made it, and to advise people to vote better next time, comparing the looming climate crisis with the current coronavirus pandemic.
We've seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic. We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall. https://t.co/K8Ucu7iVDK
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 31, 2020
Google News