Defending Trump, 4 motorists negotiate a deal on greenhouse gas pollution

But with the publication of Monday’s legal agreement, the “stunt” is no longer voluntary.

“We have entered into this voluntarily, but it is now binding, it has been maintained,” said Spencer Reeder, director of government affairs and sustainability at Audi of America, who helped negotiate the agreement on behalf of Volkswagen, Audi’s parent company. .

Under the California agreement, motorists, who together make up about 30 percent of the U.S. car market, will be required to increase their average fuel economy from about 38 miles per gallon today to about 51 miles per gallon by 2026. By comparison, the Trump administration’s national rule on car emissions, which was completed this spring, rolls back a 2012 rule that requires motorists’ fleets to average about 54 miles per gallon. by 2025. Instead, the fleets should now average only about 40 miles per gallon.

The differences in fuel efficiency requirements will have a profound impact on the climate. Increasing fuel efficiency means that cars burn less gasoline and emit less greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere. The rollback of Mr. Trump of the Obama-era rule on fuel economy is the single-largest step he has taken to undo his predecessor’s policies to combat climate change.

The four motorists’ deal with California amounts to a rebellion for that rollback.

Stanley Young, a spokesman for California’s Air Resources Board, said the agreement “achieves continuous annual greenhouse gas emission reductions while saving consumers money.”

And because the deal extends beyond the borders of California, the impact could be substantial. Thirteen other states follow California state standards and have agreed to enforce the new agreement. The fate of the separate standards is expected to be decided by the Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on a multistate lawsuit seeking to overturn the Trump administration’s federal rule or at least retain state authority. to set stricter rules.

If former Vice President Joseph R. Biden jr wins the White House, he will almost certainly try to restore the Obama-era pollution rules and introduce California and other states’ permitted rules.

The motorists who sat with California said their agreement would lock them into selling more fuel-efficient, lower-polluting cars across all states, despite the White House resident.

“This represents consistency from a policy standpoint,” said Bob Holycross, vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering with Ford.

“Whether it’s going from one political party to another, whether it’s the changes of elections or what the make-up of Congress is, we need to have legal certainty about just political cycles for the investments we make, he said.