Trump rolls back Obama fuel economy rule, increasing emissions during a climate crisis

Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Donald Trump has finally gotten one of the longstanding wishes of his presidency: the weakening of an Obama-era fuel economy standard that made new cars more fuel efficient and more environmentally friendly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule on Tuesday that will take its place, one that will increase pollution while the world wrestles with a respiratory virus pandemic and a climate crisis.
Under the new rule, automakers will now have to increase the average fuel economy of their new vehicle fleets by 1.5 percent every year through their 2026 model year lineup, ultimately arriving at an average of around 40 miles per gallon. Under the previous rule — which the…

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