The EPA granted two waivers to the California Air Resources Board to allow full implementation of its regulation requiring all new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035 and a second rule lowering emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles.
The quotas would allow 20% of zero-emission cars sold to be plug-in hybrids. The rules would not affect used vehicles, allowing gas-powered car and trucks to remain on the roads.
California's strict emission rules will likely see an immediate challenge from the incoming administration. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bar the state from setting its own rules on emissions, which his first administration did in 2019 by revoking the state's EPA waiver. The move prompted California and 22 other states to sue the administration, a lawsuit that became moot when President Joe Biden took office and reversed the Trump administration policy.
Last month, Newsom announced the state would renew a rebate program for electric vehicles if the incoming Trump administration follows through on its threat to eliminate the federal tax credit of $7,500.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a narrow case on whether the oil and gas industry has the standing to California over its tailpipe emission standards.
California's battle to cut pollution levels
"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," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan 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."
Major automakers such as BMW, Ford, Honda, Stellantis and Volkswagen have adopted California's current emission rules. Newsom said in a press release Wednesday that millions of Californians and other Americans have already switched to clean vehicles and more than two million zero-emission vehicles have been sold in the state.
"We've said the country should have a single, national standard to reduce carbon in transportation, but the question about the general authority of California to establish a vehicle emissions program – and for other states to follow that program – is ultimately something for policymakers and the courts to sort out," the group said in a press release.
Environmental groups hail EPA decision on California emissions
"This might read like checking a bureaucratic box, but EPA's approval is a critical step forward in protecting our lungs from pollution and our wallets from the expenses of combustion fuels," said Earthjustice director of Right To Zero campaign Part Cort in a press release. "The gradual shift in car sales to zero-emissions models will cut smog and household costs while growing California's clean energy workforce. Cutting truck pollution will help clear our skies of smog."
"These waivers allow California - and states that chose to align with it - to curb the pollution spewing from tailpipes and address the impacts of the climate crisis," said NRDC director of clean vehicles Kathy Harris. "California decided that transitioning to cleaner and zero-emission vehicles is the best way to address the unique burdens it faces. 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."
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