Groups Oppose the SAFE Rule

A group of farm, biofuels, and environmental organizations filed a court brief objecting to the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficiency Vehicle Rule. 

Their objection is based on grounds that it both fails to account for toxic pollution from aromatic-laden fuels and ignores the important role that ethanol can play in improving fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

The rule was finalized last April by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

It reversed an Obama-era rule that called for a five percent improvement in vehicle efficiency. 

In place of that, the SAFE rule established a much smaller 1.5 percent increase in vehicle efficiency each year for light-duty vehicles. 

The brief was led by the National Farmers Union and includes support from the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, and several other industry stakeholders. 

“As written, the SAFE rule puts the interests of oil corporations ahead of those in the renewable fuel industry, the environment, and the public at large,” says NFU President Rob Larew. 

“It will increase our overall emissions, delay the development of renewable fuels, all of which erodes air quality, contributes to climate change, to health risks, and increases the cost of fuel for consumers.”

(Story Courtesy of the NAFB News Service)