electric vehicle EV charging at a charging station.

New Trump administration rule weakens efforts to promote cleaner cars

The Trump administration just threw a wrench into Biden’s fuel efficiency plans, publishing a new rule that challenges how electric vehicles factor into federal standards.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

In short:

  • The U.S. Transportation Department issued a rule saying the Biden administration improperly used electric vehicles to calculate carmakers’ fuel economy standards.
  • While not eliminating Biden’s rules outright, the administration suggested it may not enforce them during its own rulemaking process, arguing the current standards are akin to an EV mandate.
  • The move undercuts one of Biden’s core climate strategies and could reduce pressure on automakers to improve efficiency — unless U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules, which Republicans are also trying to reverse, stay intact.

Why this matters:

Fuel efficiency rules are one of the federal government’s main tools to cut transportation emissions — the top source of greenhouse gases in the U.S. While this new rule doesn’t outright kill the fuel economy standards, it signals the administration likely won’t enforce them while it writes its own version.

Read more: The role of electric vehicles in the push for environmental justice

A view of water with wind turbines in the distance.
Credit: A. C/Unsplash+

Trump officials quietly tighten control over renewable energy projects on public lands

The U.S. Interior Department now requires wind and solar projects on federal land to receive personal approval from Secretary Doug Burgum, a move that could delay clean energy development across millions of acres.

Josh Siegel and Zack Colman report for POLITICO.

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A bullet train speeding down the track with blurred landscape around it.

Trump pulls $4 billion from California bullet train project, escalating feud with Newsom

The Trump administration has revoked $4 billion in federal funding for California’s long-delayed high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, sparking legal threats from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Frances Vinall reports for The Washington Post.

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A man stands on a rock overlooking a hazy Grand Canyon on a sunny day.

Parks lose ground on clean air as wildfire smoke and budget cuts grow

Air quality across U.S. national parks has improved since the 1990s, but growing wildfire smoke and shrinking federal budgets threaten to reverse those gains.

Niko Kommenda reports for The Washington Post.

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Coal plant with smokestacks and the setting sun in the distance.

Virginia clean energy advocates question reliability of new federal energy report promoting coal

A recent U.S. Department of Energy report ordered by President Trump promotes coal-fired power as essential to grid reliability, but Virginia clean energy advocates say it overlooks climate risks and mounting financial losses.

Charles Paullin reports for Inside Climate News.

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A highway entering the Tongass National Forest with mountains and trees in the background.

Trump administration revives plan to open Alaska’s Tongass rainforest to logging

The Trump administration has announced plans to eliminate protections for roadless areas in national forests, including Alaska’s Tongass, potentially opening millions of acres of wilderness to logging and development.

Ted Williams reports for Yale Environment 360.

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Street signs saying Wall St with a skyscraper in the background.
Credit: Lo Lo/Unsplash

Wall Street firms move to buy electric utilities as data centers drive energy demand

BlackRock and Blackstone are seeking to acquire utilities in Minnesota, New Mexico, and Texas to profit from the electricity needs of expanding data centers, raising concerns from consumer advocates about rate hikes and service reliability.

Ivan Penn reports for The New York Times.

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Interior of an industrial plant with a dusty forklift.

Trump administration halts hydrogen furnace project in polluted Ohio steel town

A plan to replace a coal-fired furnace at an Ohio steel mill with cleaner hydrogen technology has stalled after the Trump administration withdrew key federal support.

Stephen Starr reports for The Guardian.

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Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

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An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

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New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

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