States and environmental groups sue over vehicle mileage rollback

Twenty-six states and a coalition of environmental and consumer groups filed separate lawsuits Friday challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of U.S. vehicle fuel economy standards. They say the rules will make drivers spend more on gasoline and increase pollution. The administration says they will lower vehicle costs and give automakers more flexibility.

The Transportation Department announced Monday that automakers must reach a fleetwide average of 34.9 miles per gallon by the 2031 model year, down from 50.4 miles per gallon under standards set during the Biden administration. The rules govern Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards for new vehicles.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the lawsuit by the states, which include New York, Al Jazeera reported. The states allege that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the standards, violated its congressional mandate to set fuel economy requirements at the “maximum feasible” level.

Bonta also challenged the agency’s calculation of the standards. According to Al Jazeera, previous calculations, including those made during Trump’s first administration, counted electric vehicles already on U.S. roads when establishing a baseline for the vehicle fleet. Bonta said excluding them from the new calculation makes it easier to justify weaker requirements for gasoline-powered vehicles. He called the approach “flawed” and “dramatically distorted.”

In the second lawsuit, groups including the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute and the Conservation Law Foundation challenged the rollback. CBS News reported that the groups filed a petition for review in a U.S. appeals court against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison.

“It is unlawful for Trump to turn back the clock on fuel-efficient cars, forcing drivers to waste more money on gas and communities to breathe toxic air,” said Katherine Garcia, the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All director.

Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman said buyers need more fuel-efficient choices and vehicles that deliver “more miles per gallon and miles per dollar.” The groups contend that weaker standards will increase emissions as well as fuel costs.

The Transportation Department offered a different assessment. It said the revised rule will cut the average upfront cost of a new vehicle by $1,300, reduce annual oil consumption and give manufacturers more choice in what they build. According to Al Jazeera, the department also said the change could save American taxpayers $138 billion over five years. Duffy said the rule would counter what he called an “illegal mandate” that pushed automakers to make more expensive electric vehicles.

Stellantis welcomed the change. “We welcome the Administration’s efforts to reset the CAFE regulations to more achievable targets that are better aligned with market realities,” said Shane Karr, the automaker’s senior vice president of public affairs in North America.

The lawsuits come as gasoline prices rise. CBS News reported that the national average reached $4.40 a gallon Friday, up from $3.16 a year earlier and about $2.98 before the Iran war began in late February. The Environmental Protection Agency says transportation accounted for 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, the latest year for which it had data, according to CBS News.