When the Obama administration introduced the first clean car standards in 2012, they were the most significant climate rules in U.S. history. Eight years later, the Trump administration, siding with the fossil fuel industry, gutted the Obama-era rule. The Biden EPA restored and strengthened clean car standards in 2021. Now we must build on them with long-term standards and investments to achieve a pollution-free transportation future. Here’s what needs to happen next and how you can help.

Why are clean car standards important?

• Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the U.S., accounting for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Air pollution from cars and trucks harms people’s health — especially in low-income communities and communities of color that border major roads and freeways. Vehicle emissions cause thousands of premature deaths and billions in health care costs every year.
• Transitioning to cleaner cars reduces our dependence on oil and saves drivers billions at the pump. It also drives innovation and creates jobs in the auto industry manufacturing technology that reduces pollution and improves fuel economy.
• Clean car standards are a critical step forward as we move toward a zero-emissions transportation sector powered by 100% clean energy.

What is the Biden administration doing?

• On his first day in office, President Biden directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era clean car standards.
• The EPA restored and strengthened emissions and fuel economy standards in December 2021 for new cars and light trucks through the model year 2026.
• Now the EPA is working on the next set of standards for model year 2027 through 2035.
• Biden also signed an executive order setting a target of 50% electric vehicle sales by 2030.
• The Biden administration restored California’s authority to set more ambitious tailpipe emissions standards, after the Trump administration sought to revoke it.

What is Earthjustice doing to advance clean car standards?

• Earthjustice, on behalf of the Sierra Club, sued the Trump administration in 2020 for its illegal rollback of the Obama-era clean car standards.
• Now we’re urging the Biden administration to set the strongest possible standards to meet our climate goals. That means electrifying all new cars and light-duty trucks by 2035.
• We also defended California’s authority to set stronger clean car standards than the federal government, and pushing California to lead the way towards a 100% zero-emissions future.

How can you help?

The Environmental Protection Agency needs to know you support these measures to reduce our nation’s climate pollution:

1. Establishing a 2030 standard that achieves fleet average greenhouse gas emissions 60% or more below today’s average;
2. Putting the nation on a trajectory to make all new cars and light-duty trucks zero-emission vehicles no later than 2035; and
3. Ensuring all new trucks and buses are zero-emission no later than 2040.