The Maine attorney general’s office says it’s ready to fight efforts by the Trump administration to postpone or weaken new, tougher fuel economy standards for new cars and trucks.
Maine is part of a coalition of states, led by New York, that says it will oppose any weakening of the Obama-era standards, which would require corporate fleet vehicles to get 54.5 miles to the gallon by 2025. The Trump administration has ordered that the rules be re-evaluated, and it’s expected to roll them back.
“When you pump a pound of carbon into the air for every mile you drive in a standard vehicle, that’s a lot of carbon,” says Maine Attorney General Janet Mills. “We’re opposing [Environmental Protection Agency] Secretary [Scott] Pruitt’s proposal to get rid of the waiver that allows California and about a dozen other states to have their own emission control regulations.”
Maine is one the states that has adopted California’s standards, which are stricter than those set by the federal government. The Trump administration has said it wants one uniform requirement across the U.S.