Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called for the Trump Administration to leave in place vehicle emissions standards, while also allowing states like Maryland to adopt stricter standards than set at the federal level. “Maryland has made significant progress in improving our air quality in recent years, and we are a leader in fighting the effects of climate change. That progress would be jeopardized by any weakening of vehicle emissions standards,” Hogan said in a written statement. “We strongly urge the EPA to drop their plans to weaken vehicle emissions standards, and we call on the agency to allow our state to continue to adopt strong standards to protect the air that Marylanders breathe.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would ease emissions standards for model year 2022-2025 cars and trucks, but did not specify what the new targets would be.
“Maryland is a recognized leader in fighting the effects of climate change, and the Hogan administration opposes efforts to weaken our forward progress on clean cars and a healthy environment,” added Hogan’s Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. “We will use the law and other tools to block rollbacks. EPA should be supporting state and regional actions to cut greenhouse gases and interstate smog.”