White House Likely to Propose CAFE Freeze

The Trump administration is developing a variety of alternatives to hiking real-world fuel economy targets for passenger cars in 2020-2026, according to media reports.

The proposal, which may be finalized within weeks, is expected to propose a freeze on allowable carbon dioxide emissions. CO₂ output by petroleum-burning vehicles is directly related to fuel efficiency, so regulating one impacts the other.

The proposal also raises an argument that the Environmental Protection Agency could revoke California’s permission under the Clean Air Act of 1970 to set its own emission rules. The state has threatened to return the U.S. to a two-standard market by implementing the original CO₂ limits even if federal agencies don’t.

In the final days of the Obama administration, EPA approved CO₂ limits that would have raised on-the-road corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) targets to about 31 mpg in 2020 and to 36 mph five years later. The agency under the Trump administration reopened that decision and concluded the original schedule “didn’t comport with reality.”

The agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which handles CAFE rules, are writing the new plan for the White House. Reports say the proposal will outline seven alternatives to a freeze which would enable carmakers to earn credits that help them meet tougher CO₂ limits.