Automakers are furious after California moved forward with plan to ban the sale of all gas-powered cars by 2035.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions after it found opponents were not able to meet the legal burden to how it was inconsistent with the federal Clean Air Act.
‘California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,’ EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
‘Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.’
The new waiver is important not only to California but to more than a dozen other states that follow its nation-leading standards on vehicle emissions.
Despite the environmental win in the state, the requests are expected to be immediately reversed when President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in late January.
The Republican has said he will move to revoke all California waivers as part of an industry-friendly approach that includes boosting production of fossil fuels and repealing key parts of a landmark 2022 climate law.
Trump rescinded California’s authority on emissions in 2019, only to be reversed three years later by the Biden EPA, which restored the state’s authority in 2022.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday granted two requests from Gavin Newsom’s administration to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including the plan to ban the sale of all gas-powered cars by 2035
The new waiver is important not only to California but to more than a dozen other states that follow its nation-leading standards on vehicle emissions. Newsom said the EPA’s approval of the advanced clean-cars rule was a vote of confidence in California’s accomplishments
That year, the blue state banned the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Used gas-powered cars could still be driven and sold under the policy.
Several states followed the policy change after California announced it.
Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and other major automakers are meeting current California emission standards, but some major car companies questioned the latest EPA waiver.
‘Achieving the sales mandates under current market realities will take a miracle. There needs to be balance and some states should exit the [California] program,’ Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s CEO John Bozzella said.
Most of the Democratic-leaning states that have adopted California’s rules are not selling anywhere near the 35 percent level of EV sales required next year.
It’s also unlikely they will meet the 2035 target of 100 percent EV sales, according to Bozzella.
The CEO, who expects Trump to demolish the waiver, said that although automakers are making electric vehicles, consumers still have ‘reasonable expectation they can still choose what kind of vehicle to drive.’
Scott Vazin, a spokesman for Toyota in North America, worried the new rules will leave some consumers without the ability to purchase a vehicle that fits their ‘mobility needs.’
Despite that, Governor Gavin Newsom – who often touts California’s leadership on climate policy – said the EPA’s approval of the advanced clean-cars rule was a vote of confidence in California’s accomplishments in ‘protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution.’
‘Naysayers like President-Elect Trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market,’ he said.
Despite the environmental win in the state, the requests are expected to be immediately reversed when President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in late January
Trump rescinded California’s authority on emissions in 2019, only to be reversed three years later by the Biden EPA, which restored the state’s authority in 2022
Environmental groups also hailed the Biden administration’s action.
‘EPA’s approval is a critical step forward in protecting our lungs from pollution and our wallets from the expenses of combustion fuels,’ said Paul Cort, director of Earthjustice’s Right To Zero campaign.
‘The gradual shift in car sales to zero-emissions models will cut smog and household costs while growing California’s clean energy workforce.’
Kathy Harris, director of clean vehicles at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the decision shows respect for California and other states.
‘California decided that transitioning to cleaner, zero-emission vehicles is the best way to address the unique (air pollution) burdens it faces,’ she said.
‘This is exactly how our system of federalism should work. If other states don’t like California’s approach, they don’t need to follow it. But no one should object to the longstanding authority of states to act to protect their residents.’
The EPA’s action comes as the Supreme Court said last week that it will take up a business-backed appeal challenging an earlier California waiver issued by the Biden administration.
The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by fuel producers who object to an EPA waiver granted in 2022.
The high court will not be reviewing the waiver itself but a related issue: whether fuel producers have legal standing to challenge it.
A federal appeals court ruled that the companies lacked the right to sue because they produced no evidence that they would be affected by the waiver, which directly affects vehicle manufacturers.
