2021 Tesla Model S
Credit:Tesla
Stronger standards would support climate, public health, and consumer protection
November 7, 2021 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last Friday, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.)joined a bicameral effort to urge Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to strengthen new greenhouse gas emission vehicle standards.
In a letter to Administrator Regan, the lawmakers call for EPA to adopt the most stringent of the proposed alternatives for the vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standard rulemaking for passenger cars and light trucks for Model Years 2023-2026. Additionally, the letter requests that the EPA increase standard stringency by an additional ten grams of carbon dioxide per mile and change or eliminate credits included in the proposed rule to maximize measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
“While we appreciate the urgency with which the EPA has worked to reinvigorate our federal vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards, the proposed rule’s current preferred option includes loopholes that could harm the Biden administration’s efforts to make up for the lost years of climate inaction under the Trump administration,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to EPA Administrator Michael Reagan. “More robust standards are affordable and technologically feasible. Raising the bar and ensuring that the standards are not weakened by unnecessary credits would help avoid the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis and save money for consumers.”
In March 2021, Senators Padilla and Feinstein sent a letter to President Biden asking him to reinstate California’s authority to set greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards and follow California’s lead by setting a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold are zero-emission vehicles. In July, the Senators also sent a letter to President Joe Biden pushing the Administration to revise the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission standards for on-highway heavy-duty trucks, which have not been revised in 20 years.
The Senate letter led by Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), was also signed by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
The House letter led by Representative Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), was signed by Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragán (Calif.-44), Jared Huffman (Calif.-02), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.-13), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.-09), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.-47), Mike Levin (Calif.-49), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.-03), Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.-11), Jahana Hayes (Conn.-05), Steve Cohen (Tenn.-09), Bobby Rush (Ill.-01), Peter Welch (Vt.-At Large), Mondaire Jones (N.Y.-17), Karen Bass (Calif.-37), Anna Eshoo (Calif.-18), André Carson (Ind.-07), Ro Khanna (Calif.-17), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.-01), Julia Brownley (Calif.-26), Jim Costa (Calif.-16), Barbara Lee (Calif.-13), Jerry McNerney (Calif.-09), Judy Chu (Calif.-27), Danny Davis (Ill.-07), Kathy Castor (Fla.-14), Grace Napolitano (Calif.-32), Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.-40), Brenda Lawrence (Mich.-14), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.-03), Maxine Waters (Calif.-43), Marie Newman (Ill.-03), Mary Gay Scanlon (Pa.-05), Sylvia García (Texas-29), Jesús “Chuy” García (Ill.-04), and Nikema Williams (Ga.-05).
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
Source: Alex Padilla
