The Obama administration’s global warming rules for cars for the coming years are too strict and should be relaxed, the Trump administration declared Monday, siding with automakers.
The widely expected declaration by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt matches up with what automakers have asked President Trump to do, arguing that with fuel prices low and Americans buying bigger cars, the greenhouse gas standards for cars built between 2022 and 2025 are too aggressive.
Pruitt said he’s kicking off a regulatory process with the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to formally loosen the standards. NHTSA is responsible for car efficiency rules while EPA’s authority is over the greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Obama administration’s determination was wrong,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a Monday statement, referring to the Obama administration’s finding weeks before Trump’s inauguration that the upcoming rules are appropriate.
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