Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Streetsblog California home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Trump Admin Snuffs Out Climate Progress at U.S. DOT

Photo: Minesweeper/Wikimedia Commons

At the tail end of the Obama administration, U.S. DOT enacted a new rule to encourage transportation policies that reduce the threat of catastrophic climate change. For the first time, state and regional transportation agencies would have to set targets to reduce the carbon impact of their policies, and to track progress toward those goals.

The rule was supposed to make transportation agencies more accountable for the carbon emissions caused by highway expansions -- and to develop plans to reduce the climate impact of transportation. With the transportation sector accounting for more U.S. greenhouse gas emissions than electric power, it was a timely intervention. And now the Trump administration and its militant climate denialism have snuffed it out.

The Federal Highway Administration announced last week that the carbon emissions rule has been revoked, even though public comments overwhelmingly supported maintaining the reporting requirements.

In its announcement, U.S. DOT cited the cost of administering the rule as the reason to discontinue it [PDF]. But the estimated costs were negligible: about $1.7 million annually, across the whole country, according to the FHWA's own analysis.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is considering a court challenge to U.S. DOT's decision, said the NRDC's Deron Lovaas.

NRDC has had success opposing Trump-era environmental rollbacks. The organization won a case last year that compelled the Trump DOT to comply with the greenhouse gas rule while it was still on the books.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

First OC Streetcar Arrives

The $649 million 4.1-mile OC Streetcar light rail line is 92 percent complete, and now anticipated to open in spring 2026

May 8, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines

California and Trump continue to spar and more news from up and down the state.

May 8, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Normal’ is Not Correct, Someone Died Here

After a crash, the debris is quickly cleaned up and everyone moves on (usually too quickly). But these two experts are asking us to all slow down.

May 8, 2025

Metro Names Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025

State Supreme Court Reinforces Rules that Cities Must Maintain Safe Roads

When Ty Whitehead was injured in a crash caused by a pothole in Oakland, it sparked an eight-year legal battle that is still being waged.

May 7, 2025
See all posts