EPA's new auto standards on passenger vehicles expected to increase fuel savings for Pennsylvanians
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The EPA issued new auto standards aimed at cutting carbon emissions from passenger vehicles, in what leaders are calling the most ambitious plan to do so, and they're expected to have a significant effect across the country, including in Pennsylvania.
As cars and trucks continue to pollute the environment, folks are getting sicker and weather patterns are becoming more severe.
State Senator Lindsey Williams, (D) of District 38, spoke at a press conference Wednesday morning.
"The price tag to address just the HVAC concerns in schools and keep our students and educators safe is millions and millions of dollars," Williams said.
The heat is just one example.
Williams also brought up that by May 18 of this year, the Pittsburgh region experienced more tornadoes than any other May on record, and with transportation being the second largest source of greenhouse gas in the state, the impact is only growing more dire.
However, the hope is that will change after the EPA recently finalized new clean car standards for new models starting with 2027 through 2032. They're expected to stop more than seven billion tons of carbon emissions, increasing the amount of EV and plug-in vehicles.
Rick Price is the executive director of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities.
"These new standards encourage automakers to offer more choices," Price said.
"We also anticipate that consumers will enjoy $62 billion in reduced fuel costs, maintenance, and repair costs every year," Williams said.
Gage Bayless of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments added that the American Lung Association gives Allegheny County an 'F' in the amount of fine particulate matter in the air. He said these new requirements will reduce it by about 95 percent by 2032, and thus save lives.
He also claimed the standards would have additional secondary effects.
"The transition to green energy will save a lot of money, and the more money in people's wallets means the better health care that they can afford," Bayless said.