Today I’m thrilled to announce EPA’s new clean fuel and vehicle standards that are a win for public health, a win for our environment, and a win for our wallets. These “Tier 3” emission standards for cars and gasoline will significantly reduce harmful emissions, prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses, and encourage innovation and technological improvements in the cars and trucks we drive.
By reducing gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60% (down from 30 to 10 parts per million (ppm) in 2017), vehicle emission control technologies can perform more efficiently, both on existing vehicles and on new ones. The new Tier 3 standards will also slash of a range of harmful pollutants that can cause premature death and respiratory illnesses. They will reduce smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) by 80%, establish a 70% tighter particulate matter standard (PM2.5), and virtually eliminate fuel vapor emissions.
Tier 3 builds on a broader array of practical and achievable cleaner fuel and vehicle standards that cut carbon pollution that contributes to climate change, clean the air we breathe, strengthen energy security, and save families money at the pump. They build on already established fuel efficiency standards that by 2025 will save American families more than $8,000 at the pump over their vehicle’s lifetime.