The proposal to roll back anti-pollution efforts, released early on Thursday, is in line with President Donald Trump’s decision last year to abandon the 2015 Paris Agreement, under which countries agreed to take steps to mitigate global warming.
The proposal from the U.S. Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency would freeze fuel efficiency standards at 2020 levels through 2026, and require dramatically fewer electric vehicles as more people continue to drive gasoline-powered vehicles.
The administration said the freeze would boost U.S. oil consumption by about 500,000 barrels of oil a day by the 2030s, and save 12,700 traffic fatalities — or up to 1,000 per year — by reducing the price of new vehicles by prodding people to buy newer, safer vehicles more quickly.