December 20, 2021

Statement of Nathaniel Keohane
President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

On the newly released vehicle emissions standards from United States Environmental Protection Agency

“Cleaning up climate pollution from cars and light trucks is a vital step to achieving the nation’s climate goals and maintaining America’s competitiveness—and good jobs—in the global economy. The vehicle emission standards released today represent a significant step toward reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels—avoiding over three billion tons of climate pollution through 2050 and reducing gasoline use by 360 billion gallons. The rule also makes economic sense, yielding net economic benefits of $120 billion to $190 billion over that period—including $8 billion to $19 billion in public health benefits as a result of lower tailpipe emissions of other pollutants responsible for smog and soot—and saving American consumers hundreds of billions of dollars at the pump.

“EPA has appropriately strengthened this final rule relative to the proposal, in response to comments from C2ES and many others showing that automakers can cut emissions even faster than the proposed rule envisioned. Now it’s up to President Biden and the administration to move forward quickly with the next generation of vehicle emission standards beginning in model year 2027, to set the nation on a path to zero-emission vehicles and a cleaner and more prosperous future.”

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To reach a C2ES expert, contact Philip Horowitz at press@c2es.org.

About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to forge practical solutions to climate change. Our mission is to advance strong policy and action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts. Learn more at www.c2es.org.

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