GreenLatinos Celebrates New Administration Rules on Vehicle Efficiency Standards North Carolina
GreenLatinos celebrates the White House’s efforts to meet its climate and electric vehicles goals through an Executive Order announced today that focuses on improving vehicle efficiency standards and setting a goal of 50% vehicle electrification by 2030.
The new rules would:
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Replace weaker standards set by the Trump administration.
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Engage the EPA and DOT to improve pollution and emissions standards increasingly over a four-year period, beginning in 2022.
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Will help to send regulatory signals that expedite a transition towards cleaner, electric transportation to achieve a target of 50% clean vehicles by 2030.
Lydia Cardona Climate & Clean Air program manager released the following statement in response to the announced rule:
“Vehicle emissions are an environmental justice issue. These rules make progress towards reducing the burden that communities of color experience from vehicle pollution. People of color are less likely to own cars and more likely to use public transit than their white counterparts, so they generate a disproportionately small share of motor vehicle pollution. But they suffer disproportionately large impacts. A 2019 study estimated that Black and Latino populations experience 56 percent and 63 percent more pollution respectively than their activities cause.”
These rules will shape the future of vehicle emissions for the next ten years, so it’s important that they aim to significantly scale back emissions. We hope it will be the first of several policies that deliver benefits towards environmental justice.
These strong regulations are an important step in advancing towards a fully clean transportation future that cuts greenhouse gas emissions to meet climate goals while addressing health burdens that communities of color face from toxic vehicle pollutants. Further robust regulations will be needed to meet the urgency of our compounding climate and health crises through at least a 60% reduction in vehicle emissions by 2030 and ensuring new cars become 100% emissions free by 2035.”
