U.S. President Donald Trump is considering taking a step backwards on emissions requirements. He claims that pollution-reduction rules imposed by the Biden administration are too stringent and too costly for automakers.
The President he discussed the subject with Stellantis head John Elkann. He reported that the two discussed “some of the environmental issues they face that we're going to clean up”.
Trump said he is leaning to returning to 2020 standards, the last in force during his first presidential term. He added that the anti-pollution measures being applied worldwide “don't make the slightest difference to the environment”, but that they “stop people from building vehicles.” Let's just say that runs counter to the consensus scientific opinion.
As Automotive News points out, a return to 2020 standards means a greenhouse gas pollution limit of 204 grams per mile for cars and 284 grams per mile for light-duty trucks.
President Joe Biden tightened the standards on taking office, pushing tailpipe carbon dioxide emission limits to 170 grams per mile for the 2027 model-year and just 85 grams per mile by 2032.
Trump has said that overly stringent rules are tantamount to a mandate for the sale of electric vehicles, since the strict nature of the rules forces manufacturers to sell EVs.
Yet scientists and environmental experts argue that greenhouse gas emissions need to be drastically reduced if we are to effectively combat climate change. The American transportation sector is the main source globally of those emissions.
