WASHINGTON — Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin hinted Monday that he’s preparing to roll back one car feature that every driver “hates.”
“Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy,” Zeldin tweeted Monday in a post that has since racked up more than 8 million views.
“EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it.”
The feature kills internal combustion engines at red lights and has been touted by proponents for being able to conserve fuel and cut down on pollution.
Critics have questioned whether the feature can wear down the car’s battery or engine more quickly.
The “off-cycle CO2 reducing” tech has its origins in a federal rule proposed under former President Barack Obama in 2012 — but didn’t take effect until new fuel economy standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions five years later.
Between 2012 and 2021, the number of vehicles produced with a stop-start feature due to the carbon credits surged from 1% to 45%.
Up to 65% of vehicles had the technology included in new models by 2023.
The smart start tech can improve fuel economy by between 4% and 5%, according to past EPA estimates.
But it hasn’t shown clear reductions in emissions tests, an EPA spokesperson noted.
If finalized, automakers could no longer receive any credits to produce the stop-start tech in new models.
Reps for the largest auto industry trade group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move follows Zeldin targeting other tax incentives from a New York climate law and green grants from the Biden administration as part of a renewable energy push.
Zeldin charged that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unwisely ended “safe extraction” of natural gas, gas hookups on new building construction, and gas stoves — but sought to cut sales of gas-powered vehicles and block the new Constitution Pipeline’s construction.
In January, the EPA head revealed that he found $20 billion in taxpayer money “parked” at Citibank in Manhattan after it was authorized for an array of “far-left activist groups” following the passage of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
President Trump tapped Zeldin to “unleash prosperity through deregulation” with an executive order in January that designated the EPA and other agencies to eliminate at least 10 regulations for every new one proposed.
