Public Testimony From Consortium Executive Director: Protect Strong Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards

In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a proposal to weaken Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model year 2022 to 2031 passenger cars and trucks. 

Today, January 7, Lisa Patel, MD, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, spoke at the public hearing in opposition to this proposal. Below is her testimony:  

“My name is Dr. Lisa Patel. I’m the Executive Director for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, which represents 58 major medical societies and over 700,000 physicians across the United States concerned about the impacts of climate change and air pollution on the health of our patients and communities. I also speak as a pediatrician, caring for children whose developing lungs make them uniquely vulnerable to polluted air. 

“Rolling back fuel efficiency standards threatens hard-won progress in reducing dangerous air pollution and preventing adverse health outcomes—especially for medically sensitive populations such as children, older adults, pregnant people, and those with chronic heart and lung disease. 

“NHTSA’s existing standards were projected to significantly reduce smog-forming oxides of nitrogen and carcinogenic particulate pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and to drive dramatic declines in these pollutants from passenger vehicles and light trucks. NHTSA’s own analysis showed these reductions would save hundreds of lives while lowering operating costs for consumers. 

“Yet this proposal explicitly acknowledges that weakening the standards would result in over 450 premature deaths, nearly 14,000 asthma exacerbations, and thousands of additional health emergencies between 2024 and 2050. These are not abstract numbers. As a pediatrician, I have cared for multiple children from West Oakland, a community encircled by major freeways, where research shows that nearly half of new childhood asthma cases are driven by traffic-related pollution. I have treated toddler after toddler with terror in their eyes as I listened to lungs so inflamed that air could barely pass. No child should endure that. No parent should witness it. And no policymaker should allow it when effective tools exist to prevent it. 

“Transportation pollution is a major driver of these harms. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and a significant source of health-damaging air pollution. Approximately 45 million people live within 300 feet of major roadways, where exposure increases the risk of asthma, respiratory infections in children, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and premature death. Nearly 156 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution, and climate change is worsening these risks through extreme heat and wildfire smoke. 

“Fuel efficiency standards are also a proven consumer protection. Since 2001, strong standards have delivered more than $9,000 in savings per vehicle at the pump. Even NHTSA’s own analysis shows that under this proposal, consumers would pay at least $187 more over the lifetime of passenger cars and light trucks due to higher fuel costs—while the agency acknowledges it cannot ensure any regulatory savings would be passed on to consumers. 

“Decades of innovation have shown that vehicle safety, performance, and fuel efficiency can advance together. NHTSA’s existing standards conserve energy, reduce pollution, and protect public health and family budgets. 

“For these reasons, we urge NHTSA to maintain the strongest possible fuel efficiency standards for all vehicle classes and withdraw this proposal.”