New Mexico Joins Lawsuit Over Federal Rollback of Fuel Efficiency Rules
New Mexico is among 23 states that sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, May 27, over a decision to roll back a key climate measure requiring automobile manufacturers to meet important fuel efficiency standards. The Trump rollback was finalized this past March, gutting standards that were enacted during the Obama government. The cities of New York City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles are joining the legal challenge led by authorities in the 23 states.
“The March rule eliminates the year-over-year improvements expected from the auto industry, slashing standards that require automakers to produce fleets that average nearly 55 mpg by 2025. Instead, the Trump rule would bring that number down to about 40 mpg by 2026, bringing mileage below what automakers have said is possible for them to achieve,” said The Hill newspaper
Other states challenging the Trump government’s move are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, plus the District of Columbia.
According to California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols the administration “used questionable science, faulty logic and ludicrous assumptions to justify what they wanted from the start: to gut and rewrite the single most important air regulation of the past decade.” Read more in Reuters article
Environmental Groups File Own Lawsuit
In a parallel move, 12 environmental organizations filed their own lawsuit against the administration’s decision. They include Center for Biological Diversity, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Communities for a Better Environment, Conservation Law Foundation, Consumer Federation of America, Environment America, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law and Policy Center, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Public Citizen, Inc., Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The administration’s final rule that rolls back vehicle standards isn’t just an effort to undo the most significant and successful climate policy on the books. It’s also an absolute travesty of a regulatory process,” said Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Read more from the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
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