Roland Lemar

State Representative Roland Lemar (D-East Haven/New Haven) House chair of the Transportation Committee, joined 199 legislators from 14 states in calling on the auto industry to oppose the rollback as the Trump administration gets closer to rolling back federal clean car standards.

A letter signed by the lawmakers was sent to 20 automakers – it’s full text and signatories can be found here.

Fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, also known as clean car standards, took effect during the Obama administration and already have made the air cleaner and saved consumers at the pump. But as soon as President Donald Trump took office, automakers lobbied him to roll them back. It appears that Trump will comply; his administration issued a proposal last year to dramatically roll back the standards.

As the letter noted, “Preliminary analyses indicate that the administration’s proposal will result in an additional 2.2 billion metric tons of global warming emissions by 2040. Increasing emissions at a time when scientists are warning us that we must do everything we can to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, is a reckless U-turn that poses a grave threat to the health and future of the constituents we were elected to serve. What’s more, in exchange for increased pollution, Americans will face increased expenses at the gas pump—up to $500 more each year.”

The automakers receiving the letter are Aston Martin, BMW, FCA, Ferrari, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen.

The lawmakers are calling on automakers to publicly oppose the Trump administration’s proposal and to discontinue its lobby efforts for loopholes that would yield more pollution and higher gas bills. The letter also urges the automakers to remove themselves as parties (via membership in The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers) to a lawsuit challenging the midterm review as finalized by the Trump administration.

If the standards remain strong, consumers will save billions at the pump, and more than 6 billion metric tons of dangerous climate pollution will be avoided.