Truckers, builders celebrate repeal of carbon emissions rule for highways

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

In the latest major deregulation effort by the Trump administration, the Department of Transportation has withdrawn a Biden-era highway emissions rule set to take effect in May.

Without the repeal, state transportation departments would have had to measure carbon dioxide emissions on federally funded highways, set goals for emissions reduction, and send the data to federal agencies.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are going to build great, big, beautiful things again. I slashed this ridiculous climate requirement to ensure no radical political agenda gets in the way of revitalizing America’s highways,” DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said.

Organizations representing truckers, contractors, and transportation officials involved in highway design praised the Trump administration’s decision. 

“The so-called greenhouse gas performance measure would have forced states to put important infrastructure projects, like road and bridge improvements, on hold to fund projects that would do little to facilitate the movement of people and goods,” Alex Etchen from the Associated General Contractors of America said. 

More than 20 states sued the previous administration over the greenhouse gas rule, as reported by The Center Square. Rural states in particular, which see more long-distance driving, were concerned the mandate would prove onerous and costly to implement.

“States are best equipped to determine their transportation needs, but…[the] emissions performance measures issued by the Biden Administration would have created unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to access federal funds,” Dan Horvath from the American Trucking Association said. 

 “Ultimately, this heavy-handed approach would have scrambled local priorities and undermined highway expansion projects, leading to greater traffic congestion and higher shipping costs that contribute to inflation,” he added. 

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