Trump administration officially puts brake on rule that measures tailpipe emissions

The Trump administration has finalized the repeal of an Obama-era rule requiring local transportation departments to measure the carbon emissions from vehicles on federal highways and to set emissions-reduction goals. The administration delayed the rule last May, prompting a lawsuit from a coalition of states, including California. In 2016, the year the rule was introduced, the transportation sector contributed a third of all U.S. carbon emissions—you know, the ones fueling climate change and harming public health. And yet, the Federal Highway Administration now claims the rule “imposed costs with no predictable level of benefits.” The news comes shortly before an expected announcement from the administration that it will be gutting clean car standards.