Action Alert: Don’t Let Fuel Standards Plummet 

When fuel efficiency drops, we all pay the price. The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing to reduce “corporate average fuel economy” (CAFE) standards. CAFE standards set the minimum miles-per-gallon that carmakers must average across their fleet of vehicles. If finalized, the average miles per gallon (mpg) of most new cars and trucks will go from about 50 mpg to 34.5 mpg by 2031. This will cost YOU more money and will cause more pollution. Here’s how: Why do we care about this? Two main reasons: 

Getting Around is Going to Cost More:  

• If our vehicles are not as fuel efficient, a single gas tank won’t go as far, and we need to fill up more frequently. It’s as simple as that. Transportation is already the second-largest household expense for American families, accounting for 15 percent of average household spending. 

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that its previous update to fuel-economy standards would have saved Americans $23 billion in fuel costs and reduced national fuel consumption by 70 billion gallons. 

• Air quality and climate: Less efficient vehicles pollute more. Weakening mpg rules will result in more carbon dioxide and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that are harmful to public health. Increasing fuel efficiency via the CAFE standards has been a win for decades, not just for affordability, but for the health of our communities.  

What can you do? 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is accepting comments on the proposed standards until January 20. You can read the rule in its entirety and submit written comments here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/05/2025-22014/the-safer-affordable-fuel-efficient-safe-vehicles-rule-iii-for-model-years-2022-to-2031-passenger 

Some tips: 

• Utilize data (like some of the information above) to support your claims 

• Detail specific impacts of the proposed standards, like higher fuel costs and worse air quality 

• Leverage your own expertise or personal experience to drive your message home 

• Make a specific ask: Ask the administration to keep fuel economy standards strong 

• Submitting your own unique comment will be more impactful than signing onto a petition, but if you aren’t ready to write your own, you can sign on to NRDC’s petition here: https://action.nrdc.org/letter/4588-vehicle-cafe-standards-120225