Environmental groups sue Trump for raising your fuel costs — SkimNews
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- Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Public Citizen, and Sierra Club filed a petition for review in federal appellate court against the DOT's final rule weakening fuel economy targets, though no specific legal arguments have been laid out yet.
- The Department of Energy's own analysis projects the rule will raise gas prices by 76 cents a gallon and increase fuel consumption 45% by 2031, even as record-high energy prices grip the market.
- The DOT's rule was opposed by the vast majority of 68,294 public comments submitted during the proposal phase, yet the administration finalized it anyway.
- CAFE standards, first implemented after the 1970s Arab oil embargo, have saved $5 trillion and prevented 2 trillion gallons of gasoline imports according to a 2020 study — benefits the new rule would reverse.
- The Natural Resources Defense Council (not a party to this suit) has prevailed in 90% of its cases against Trump, signaling a favorable legal environment for the new petition, though fuel economy rules rarely get canceled.
- U.S. automakers publicly praised the rollback, but a UC Davis study found they are already refusing to sell EVs to American consumers despite demand — a retreat that leaves them exposed to advancing Chinese EV competitors.
- The DOT may have overstepped its statutory authority by attempting to cover more than five model years in a single rule, a potential avenue of attack noted by the Sierra Club.
Why it matters: Consumers face a projected 76-cent-per-gallon gas price increase and 45% more fuel use by 2031 per the Department of Energy's own figures, while the U.S. auto industry — which praised the rollback — is already ceding ground to Chinese EV rivals that continue pushing efficiency. The lawsuit, though a preliminary petition, enters a legal environment where environmental challenges to the administration have succeeded 90% of the time.
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