Court upholds California’s authority to set nation-leading vehicle emission rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two years after the Biden administration restored state powers as part of an effort to reverse the Trump administration, California will continue to set its own auto emissions standards, among the highest in the nation. A federal court ruled Tuesday that it can. Environmental rollback of the times.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled against attempts by Ohio, Alabama, Texas and other Republican-led states to strip California of its authority to set standards stricter than those set by the federal government. was prevented. The court ruled that the states had failed to demonstrate how California’s emissions standards would drive up the cost of gas-powered vehicles in each state.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who often touts the state’s leadership in climate change policy, said the court’s decision reaffirms California’s ability to combat the public health and environmental impacts of vehicle emissions.

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“The transition to clean vehicles has already begun. The industry is on its way, major automakers support our standards, and California is on track to reach its goals years ahead of schedule,” he said in a statement. ” “We will never stop fighting to protect our communities from pollution and the climate crisis.”

The ruling comes ahead of a presidential election whose outcome could determine the fate of environmental regulation in California and across the nation. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump’s administration stripped California of its ability to enforce its own emissions standards, but President Biden has since restored the state’s authority. At the federal level, Biden has pledged to ensure that zero-emission vehicles account for half of all new U.S. car and truck sales by 2030.

In 2022, Ohio leads a coalition of states in filing a petition seeking to block California’s ability to enforce its own vehicle emissions standards, arguing that California violates the U.S. Constitution and usurps federal authority. claimed to have done so.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office did not respond to email or phone calls seeking comment on the ruling.

For decades, California has been able to seek a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set its own vehicle emissions standards. These rules are stricter than federal standards. California is the nation’s most populous state, has the most cars on the road, and struggles to meet air quality standards. If approved by the federal government, other states could sign on to adopt California’s emissions regulations.

Challenges to California’s authority to set vehicle emissions standards date back to President George W. Bush’s presidency in the 2000s, said Anne Carlson, an environmental law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Carlson, who served as acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the Biden administration to set fuel economy standards, said the federal government could follow California’s lead on vehicle emissions standards if ultimately successful and cost-effective. He said he often follows precedent.

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States having the power to set their own standards “really prevents vehicle emissions from completely stagnating,” Carlson said.

California is seeking a federal exemption to ban the sale of all new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and other major automakers have already agreed to comply with California’s vehicle emissions standards. The state also recently approved rules that phase out the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered lawn mowers, large trucks that transport goods through ports, and diesel-powered trains.