Trump will ease emission standards for automakers

Former President Donald Trump has announced he wants to bring back less stringent automobile emissions standards, effectively undoing the tougher rules established by former President Joe Biden. 

Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the current regulations place an unfair burden on automakers and pledged to revisit the policy adopted during his first term in office.

Trump revealed he discussed the matter with John Elkann, chairman of Stellantis NV, which owns Chrysler. During their meeting, the two talked about environmental regulations and how they affect car manufacturing. 

Trump told reporters the country will “probably” return to the emission levels applied in 2020. He said that the discussion revolved around. “some of the problems they have with the environment, which we’re going to clean up.” 

The president argued that Biden’s more rigorous standards do not “mean a damn bit of difference for the environment” yet make car production very difficult.

Under the previous policy favored by Trump, greenhouse gas pollution from passenger vehicles would be capped at 204 grams per mile for cars and 284 grams per mile for light trucks.

That 2020 baseline was set to continue under an EPA plan proposed in Trump’s first term, but Biden later replaced it with rules that require 170 grams of carbon dioxide per mile in 2027 and only 85 grams per mile in 2032.

Automakers have been pressed to expand their electric vehicle (EV) offerings under Biden’s standards. Trump has often criticized that approach, calling it an EV mandate because of how it forces manufacturers to focus on zero-emission models to meet the stricter limits. Environmental groups counter that major cuts in greenhouse gas pollution are needed to slow global warming, and they note the transportation sector remains the biggest source of these emissions in the United States.

Trump says his approach is more manageable for carmakers while being environmentally friendly

On Monday, Trump defended his preferred approach as both environmentally friendly and manageable for industry. “We’re going to be bringing it back to a standard that is a very good environmental standard, but it makes it possible to build a car,” he said. He emphasized that 2020’s requirements were already robust enough without threatening vehicle production.

Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency have yet to comment. Trump has also instructed the agency to scrap what he calls the “electric vehicle mandate,” and the EPA has begun rolling back various environmental measures tied to Biden-era efforts. If Trump follows through, the return to these weaker emission rules would mark a significant shift away from the stricter guidelines meant to curb global warming.

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