California has taken a big step forward in the fight for cleaner air and against climate change.
State leaders last week announced an agreement with four of the world’s biggest automakers — Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW — to continue fuel-efficiency standards similar to those established by the Obama administration.
The deal between the California Air Resources Board and the four automakers made good on the state’s promise to stand up to the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back fuel efficiency and tailpipe emissions.
Now it’s time for Californians to do their part.
State residents purchase an estimated 2 million cars and light trucks every year. They should take their car-buying dollars to Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW dealers, and signal to other car manufacturers that they will not buy their vehicles if they refuse to join the effort. The four companies account for about 30 percent of car sales in the nation. Gov. Gavin Newsom urged other manufacturers to join the pact.
GM did not take a position on the agreement, while a Fiat Chrysler spokesman said that his company was not asked to participate in the negotiations. Also missing are such notable manufacturers as Toyota and Mercedes. They, and other automakers, need to jump on board. It will establish those that comply as being more environmentally conscious and increase the odds of re-establishing national standards for the industry.
The agreement isn’t perfect. It continues the Obama administration’s requirement that new vehicles get an average of 50 miles per gallon, but it extends compliance by one year until 2026. The Trump administration in 2018 proposed freezing the standards at the 2020 level, or 37 miles per gallon.
EPA spokesman Michael Abboud called California’s agreement a “PR stunt” that has “no impact on EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.”
Try telling that to the other 11 states that have signed on with California to fight the Trump administration’s failure to combat air pollution. Canada has also said it will adhere to the agreement.
Meanwhile, other nations are putting the United States to shame.
Costa Rica, India, Ireland, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan have banned the sale of cars with gasoline or diesel engines by 2030. And France and England will follow suit by 2040.
Cars and trucks account for nearly one-fifth of all U.S. emissions. The United States should be a leader in cutting emissions. Since that is an unrealistic goal as long as Donald Trump sits in the White House, Californians should show the way by giving their full support to the state’s fuel-efficiency standards.
