EPA says it is relaxing fuel efficiency standards for vehicles

Cars stuck in traffic in Chicago.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it plans to roll back emissions standards for cars and trucks set under former President Barack Obama, claiming the regulations present "challenges for auto manufacturers due to feasibility and practicability."

As the regulations stand now, new vehicles must get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, but those standards are "too high," the EPA said. The agency is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to come up with new standards. It's unclear how this will play out in California — the state sets its own pollution and gas mileage standards, currently the same as federal guidelines, with about 12 other states following California's lead.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.