Trump Fuel Efficiency Cuts Would Harm Public Health
(Flickr/Jay Peeples)
The Trump administration has announced it will move to cut vehicle fuel efficiency standards created under President Obama. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that, due to reduced air pollution, the stronger standards would help avoid up to 2,000 premature deaths per year and 50,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children.
“It is ironic that the Trump administration chose the time of an unprecedented public health emergency to roll back vehicle mileage standards. Among other benefits, these standards would have saved billions in annual health care costs, reduced premature deaths, and prevented thousands of respiratory ailments, including in children,” said Dr. Phil Duffy, President and Executive Director of Woodwell Climate Research Center.
Dr. Duffy served in the Obama administration as Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a Senior Advisor in the White House National Science and Technology Council.
The EPA predicted the standards would cut carbon emissions by 6 billion metric tons over the life of the program – more than the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the United States in 2010. The stronger standards would also save drivers more than $8,000 over a vehicle’s lifetime, a net savings for American families of more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over model years 2021-2025.
“It is ironic that the Trump administration chose the time of an unprecedented public health emergency to roll back vehicle mileage standards. Among other benefits, these standards would have saved billions in annual health care costs, reduced premature deaths, and prevented thousands of respiratory ailments, including in children,” said Dr. Phil Duffy, President and Executive Director of Woodwell Climate Research Center.
Dr. Duffy served in the Obama administration as Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a Senior Advisor in the White House National Science and Technology Council.
The EPA predicted the standards would cut carbon emissions by 6 billion metric tons over the life of the program – more than the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the United States in 2010. The stronger standards would also save drivers more than $8,000 over a vehicle’s lifetime, a net savings for American families of more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over model years 2021-2025.
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