Trump’s proposed new rule is a rollback of what’s called Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards. CAFE standards essentially set a minimum level for how fuel efficient new cars need to be. But they're assessed on the automaking companies (Ford, GM, Tesla, etc) and they’re based on the average fuel economy of the automakers whole fleet. So if GM wants to sell more pickup trucks, they also need to sell more compact cars. The fastest way to increase average fuel economy is to make more cars and trucks run on electricity. No gasoline = no emissions and a CAFE impact of zero

President Biden had just raised CAFE standards, and the auto industry was already starting to make more electric cars to meet demand as a result. Now Trump wants to dramatically reduce fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, in order to convince the big automakers to pivot away from cleaner cars - to make more gas guzzlers and fewer EVs, essentially.

But to make their dirty car rule into law, Trump and his EPA crony Lee Zeldin need to repeal the Biden rules, and replace them with something dirtier. That requires public comment, expert testimony from doctors, climate scientists, and lawyers - and climate hawks like you!

The more of us who squawk up now, early and often, the stronger the record will be opposing this clean air and clean car roll-back. And when the lawsuits start (and they most definitely will, probably beginning with California which has a huge problem with air pollution and a huge market for electric cars) all those comments and testimony become evidence that can be held against Trump in a court of law.

The early climate hawk gets the rule! Sign our petition opposing the rollback of clean car standards, and we’ll keep you updated as public hearings, rulemaking, and lawsuits proceed.