CHICAGO — A new report found the country needs cleaner vehicles to combat worsening air quality across Virginia but Republican lawmakers are looking to repeal some of those regulations.
The American Lung Association’s 2025 State of Air report showed nearly half of all Americans live with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Arlington and Fairfax counties scored a “D,” with the worst ozone pollution in Virginia. Albemarle County, outside of Charlottesville, had the lowest level of ozone pollution in the state.
Laura Kate Bender, assistant vice president of nationwide healthy air for the American Lung Association, argued it is not the time to end clean air regulations. The report called for ever stricter rules on vehicle emissions, and tougher carbon pollution limits for trucks and buses.
“After decades of progress to clean up the air from policies under the Clean Air Act, things that reduce pollution from vehicles and other sources, we’re now starting to see an uptick in pollution levels once again,” Bender pointed out. “It shows we really need to double down on protections that are limiting emissions from vehicles, not roll them back.”
Republican lawmakers are considering imposing additional fees on electric vehicle purchases and repealing stricter emissions standards which, they said, would help decrease the federal gas tax, and lighter tailpipe pollution standards would reverse infringement on consumer freedom.
Bender countered vehicle pollution can impact air quality and put vulnerable people at risk. More than 840,000 Virginians have asthma, and more than 470,000 suffer from COPD, a type of chronic lung disease.
“Transportation powered by gas or diesel drives climate change, climate change makes health worse and it makes air pollution worse,” Bender outlined. “The emissions that come from a tailpipe are directly harmful to peoples’ health. Whether it’s a gas-powered car or a diesel truck or an off-road vehicle, people are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution.”
Bender added climate change, such as major wildfires in recent years, has driven down air quality across the country.
