Weakening or eliminating clean air standards risks the health of my family and friends.

The Electric Vehicle Association opposes the Trump administration's proposal to rescind the scientific endangerment finding for greenhouse gases and roll back existing clean cars and trucks standards. This misguided action would inflict significant economic hardship on American families and businesses, threaten hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, deepen our nation’s reliance on foreign oil, and severely damage the health of people in our communities.

Chris Celek, EVA’s Executive Director, shares his testimony to the EPA:

“By 2032, electric vehicles will likely overtake internal combustion engines as the primary mode of transport – with up to 67% of market share of U.S. sales. That matters greatly to Ohio, which is the largest automotive parts producer and has the second-largest automotive workforce in the U.S. The push to electrify transport has already attracted more than $8 billion in auto and advanced mobility related private investments across Ohio.

Don’t take my word for it. I’m quoting the former lieutenant governor of Ohio, Jon Husted. A Republican, Husted is now a U.S. Senator from my state. He’s long been a champion of electric vehicles because manufacturing them and the batteries that power them creates jobs and economic growth.

Electric vehicles also provide an essential way for each of us to do our part to ensure clean air today and for our children’s future. Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in my state and across the country. Weakening or eliminating clean air standards risks the health of my family and friends.

Local leaders of city and county governments and regional community organizations where I live recognize this. They have prioritized electrification of their fleets for public transit, park maintenance, police and fire, and other municipal services. They also have prioritized expansion of incentives to enable consumers to replace their older, higher-polluting vehicles with newer and cleaner transportation.

They have prioritized clean air in a state dominated by political conservatives. I urge the EPA to follow the example of local Ohio leaders and preserve the federal clean air standards.

We should all want to protect and improve our air quality. We should all also want to support and expand auto manufacturing. The existing clean air standards are driving the designing, building, testing, and deploying electric vehicles of the future.

As a result, Ohio has built the nation’s leading innovation ecosystem that brings together EV manufacturers and suppliers to advance the next generation of batteries and other technologies. The Republican-led state government anticipates the addition of 25,000 jobs in the electric vehicle and advanced manufacturing sectors by 2030. This includes roles in manufacturing, engineering, and the maintenance of EVs, batteries, and charging infrastructure.

Weakening or eliminating federal clean air standards threatens all of those new jobs. Why would the EPA do that?”