WASHINGTON—The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Evans in response to the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation jointly announcing a final rule weakening fuel economy standards that had been set to take effect:

“This is not how these things are supposed to go. There was a sensible compromise that states, manufacturers and everyone else was planning around for updated fuel economy standards that would save money and reduce pollution. It was a victory for consumers and for protecting our climate, and there was no good reason to undo that plan today.”

“This means Americans will be stuck paying more to own and operate cars for years to come, and we’ll have more air pollution to go with it. With this move, the United States will fall further behind China, Japan and the European Union, all of which are ensuring that vehicles are more efficient. This is all but saying we can’t keep up when in fact we can, and we must.”

About the Alliance to Save Energy

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Our mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.