Push for New Fuel Efficiency Standards

In August 2021, President Biden signed an executive order setting a goal that 50 percent of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in 2030 be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). He said these new fuel efficiency standards would improve our air quality and health and provide new jobs.

On Feb. 16th, City of Phoenix Vice Mayor, Yassamin Ansari, was part of a news conference. Ansari, health professionals, and veterans pushed for that new standard. According to the Vice Mayor and others, this new standard will drive investments in clean cars and zero pollution electric vehicles, spurring job growth and strengthening our national security. The standards will add further support for Arizona’s expanding electric vehicle manufacturing industry.

Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari joins Arizona Horizon to discuss more on the topic.

Does this coincide with what the Biden Administration has recently done?

“There are clean car standards, we understand that the White House is currently reviewing what the EPA has proposed. The basis of all of this is that we know research shows, and the science shows, that transportation is the leading source of carbon pollution in the United States,” said Ansari.

“This past February, I joined a series of advocates and local leaders that call on the federal government to pass the strongest possible clean car standards in their next iteration, which will hopefully be coming out this March,” said Ansari.

Have you had a response thus far?

“Response has been good, we have been told that the new standards are being reviewed. I think we made a case on why this is so important. I think here in Arizona when we look at the data, we just talked about public health, this is another big public health story. Phoenix is the second fastest warming city in the country; we also rank fifth nationwide for worst ozone pollution,” said Ansari.

Transportation is the leading cause of these rankings and is responsible for, “Fifty percent of the reason why our carbon pollution is so bad in the state,” said Ansari. This negatively impacts our public health on a daily basis and can affect those with asthma, lung disease, cancer and those at risk of stroke. These findings have mostly been in communities of color.