Chair Castor Applauds President Biden's New Standards To Reduce Pollution From Light-Duty Vehicles
WASHINGTON - Chair Kathy Castor of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released the following statement on Monday after the Environmental Protection Agency released its final greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles:
"Today, in good news for consumers, President Biden is updating fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles and strengthening safeguards to reduce pollution," said Chair Castor. "These standards will help Americans save $190 billion through energy savings and health savings due to cleaner air. They will also reduce carbon pollution by more than 3 billion tons by 2050, while helping catalyze market demand for the clean cars of the future. And along with President Biden's Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan, these standards will help advance our goal of ensuring at least half of all vehicles sold by 2030 are electric.
"I commend the Biden Administration and EPA Administrator Regan for working with automakers, labor leaders, and consumer and environmental justice advocates to ensure these new standards will both reduce pollution and support America's industries, families, and workers. I'm also heartened by the EPA's move to strengthen the final standards, ensuring they will reduce more carbon pollution than the proposed rule. I will continue to work to advance policies to clean up the transportation sector, so we can meet our need to create a net-zero emission economy as soon as possible.
"We are in a global race to lead clean vehicle production - and we want to do all we can to win that race and create those family-sustaining jobs here in America. Much more needs to be done to realize this vision, including the extension of the EV tax credit and the manufacturing investments in the Build Back Better Act. I look forward to working on this with my colleagues in the New Year."
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Background:
- In June of 2020, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Democrats released the majority staff report Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America. This report provides a roadmap for Congress—a Climate Crisis Action Plan—to build a prosperous, clean energy economy that values workers, advances environmental justice, and is prepared to meet the challenges of the climate crisis.
- House Democrats have already passed more than 250 of the recommendations in the Climate Crisis Action Plan, and have successfully worked to turn over 100 of them into law.