Administration’s move to freeze tougher fuel-efficiency standards may make it much harder for the state to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, diminish air pollution
Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:
The Trump administration yesterday moved to roll back aggressive federal clean-car standards, a decision that likely will increase air pollution in New Jersey and undermine its efforts to curb emissions contributing to climate change, according to critics.
The decision, announced jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been expected for weeks by clean-air advocates, but turned out be worse than anticipated, according to environmentalists. Proponents said it would make cars safer and save consumers money.
The proposal aims to freeze tougher fuel-efficiency standards intended to reduce pollution from cars while also revoking the right of California to establish more stringent tailpipe-emission standards than other states, a step designed to limit greenhouse-gas emissions.
Relaxing restrictions on greenhouse gases
The latter move is especially significant for New Jersey, which is one of 12 other states that have adopted California’s tougher emission standards, which include mandates to transition to electric vehicles. Transportation accounts for roughly 46 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions in New Jersey, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The rollback already is being challenged in court by environmental groups, sure to be joined by California and other states. Auto manufacturers also have a big stake in this fight, as they’re worried about having to comply with different standards in multiple states. In any case, litigation could lead to years of legal uncertainty.
In New Jersey, advocates denounced the freezing of the standards and the move to abolish the California waiver, saying it will increase air pollution, making it harder for the state to clean up its air. New Jersey has never achieved the federal health-quality standard for ground-level ozone, a pollutant that blankets parts of the state every summer.
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