Transportation Secretary Duffy Acts to Revoke Emission Rules

Then-nominee for transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, testifies before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy said on Jan. 29 that his department is taking action to remove stringent fossil fuel emission standards instituted by the Biden administration.

In December 2023, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration finalized a rule establishing a method to measure and report transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

The rule required state-level agencies to establish targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles traveling on national highways. These emission targets were intended to become more stringent over time, and agencies were required to report on their progress in meeting them. The rule did not specify how low the targets should be but allowed agencies the discretion to set goals appropriate for their communities.

The rule was set up to “confront the increasingly urgent climate crisis,” according to the executive summary, and was expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This was part of a plan to reach “net-zero emissions by no later than 2050,” according to a 2021 White House fact sheet.

On Jan. 29, Duffy approved a proposal to rescind the rule.

“The rescission reflects the Administration’s commitment to unleashing American energy and eliminating unlawful regulatory burdens,” the DOT said in a Jan. 29 statement.

Duffy also issued a memorandum on Jan. 28 related to “fixing the CAFE program.” The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulate the distance vehicles are required to travel per gallon of fuel.

In the memo, Duffy said that during the prior administration, NHTSA finalized two sets of fuel economy standards for several model years of light-duty vehicles and medium-duty work trucks.

“These fuel economy standards are set at such aggressive levels that automakers cannot, as a practical matter, satisfy the standards without rapidly shifting production away from internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to alternative electric technologies,” he stated.

Duffy said that “artificially high” fuel economy standards imposed considerably large costs which rendered “many new vehicle models unaffordable for the average American family and small business owner.”

Duffy directed the NHTSA to immediately begin reviewing and reconsidering all existing fuel economy standards applicable to model year 2022 and forward. He proposed rescinding or replacing any fuel economy standard to bring the CAFE program into compliance with the Trump administration’s policies.

Commenting on the memo, the Alliance of Automotive Innovation said it was reasonable for the new DOT leadership to review existing fuel economy standards.

“As we’ve said, the existing CAFE rules are extremely challenging to achieve—even in the best of circumstances. They also expose automakers to billions of dollars in civil penalties,” the association said in a statement.

On Jan. 29, Duffy signed what the department described as the “Woke Rescission” memorandum. It directs agency officials to “identify and eliminate all Biden-era programs, policies, activities, rules, and orders that promote climate change activism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, racial equity, gender identity policies, environmental justice, and other partisan objectives.”

The action is in line with several executive orders recently issued by President Donald Trump, including the “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” and “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” the department stated.

All DOT offices are required to identify and report, within 10 days, programs and policy statements that are subject to Trump’s relevant executive orders, according to the memo, and revoke nonconforming rules.

Duffy also signed an order to lower costs “through smarter policies, not political ideologies.” Under the order, it must be ensured that all DOT loans and grants are based on “sound economic principles, positive cost-benefit analyses, and pro-economic growth priorities.”

Duffy said these actions are a step toward restoring commonsense governance and merit-based policies at the Transportation Department.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are focused on eliminating excessive regulations that have hindered economic growth, increased costs for American families, and prioritized far-left agendas over practical solutions,” he said.“The American people deserve an efficient, safe, and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies. These actions will help us deliver on that promise.”