/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25755543/2177868881.jpg "Cars are polluting less — but for how long?")
Cars are polluting less — but for how long?
By Andrew J. Hawkins , transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
Cars are getting more efficient and less polluting, resulting in better air quality for everyone, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency. But with a new administration coming in that has made climate change and air pollution less of a priority — and drilling for more fossil fuels more of one — it’s unclear how sustainable this trend will be.
In the US, new model cars are traveling further on less gas, the EPA reports. Real-world fuel economy improved by 1.1 miles per gallon of gasoline to a “record high” of 27.1 mpg for model year 2023 vehicles. That’s an improvement of 13.1mpg since 1975, when the EPA first began gathering fuel economy data.
These gains in fuel economy do not take into account the EPA’s new, stricter tailpipe emission standards, which won’t go into effect until model year 2027. Under those rules, which were finalized earlier this year, passenger vehicles like sedans, SUVs, and trucks will have to hit an industrywide target of 85 grams of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per mile by 2032, down from 170 grams per mile in 2027. And today’s report shows that automakers are on their way toward hitting those marks.
