Last week, Consumer Reports joined allied groups outside EPA headquarters in Washington D.C. to deliver over 130,000 petition signatures (including more than 18,000 from CR members!) urging the agency to enact a groundbreaking plan that will reduce climate- and health-damaging vehicle emissions while providing consumers big savings on transportation costs.
We couldn’t have done this without consumers like you. The time CR members took to share their thoughts with EPA will make an enormous impact on the agency’s ultimate decision. With thousands of consumers taking action, we’re closer than ever to strong emissions standards that will boost the growth of sustainable and affordable electric and hybrid vehicles.
To raise awareness of this massive opportunity to protect our climate, improve our public health, and deliver cost savings to consumers, Consumer Reports joined partner organizations on the road to Route Zero, a cross-country electric vehicle relay from California to Washington D.C. In Baltimore, CR senior policy analyst Chris Harto drove the final stretch of the Route Zero relay to EPA’s headquarters in an all-electric Mustang Mach-E.
As Chris told attendees at the Baltimore event, “We need the EPA to set strong standards for greenhouse gasses to make sure that safer, cleaner, more affordable cars are on the road in the coming years. EPA estimates this proposal will save $1 trillion; that is a lot of money going back into consumer’s pockets.”
With electric vehicles lining the street, we joined with partner organizations Union of Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club, Electric Vehicle Association, MOMs Clean Air Force, Hip Hop Caucus, and more to make certain EPA hears loud and clear consumer’s demand for strong emissions standards.
As Consumer Reports’ associate director of sustainability policy, Dr. Quinta Warren, told the D.C. crowd, “The thousands of consumers who have signed our petition have done so for many reasons: the proposed EPA standards would save consumers money while reducing spending on health care tied to air pollution, and spending on disaster recovery tied to greenhouse gas emissions.”
Click here to read Consumer Reports’ formal comments to the EPA.
While we’re making progress on a cleaner car future, there is still more work to do! The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is set to release separate, but complementary, rules on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, and it is critical that consumers engage in this process.
Please continue to raise awareness and share our petition with friends and family!