Trumped? Emissions rules at risk
California officials vow to fight federal proposal to roll back strict fuel-economy standards for cars
The Trump administration moved Thursday to roll back stringent federal fuel- economy standards for cars and trucks and revoke California’s ability to require tougher emissions rules, setting up another-major battle with the Golden State that could have sweeping implications for U.S. efforts to stem climate change.
Themove, which had been discussed and rumored for months, would end an Obama- era regulation requiring automakers to build vehicles with an average fuel economy of more than 50 mpg by 2025. Under the proposal released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, the standards would stop rising in 2020 at about 37mpg. In addition, California would be prohibited from setting stricter limits for tailpipe pollution.
If the proposal takes effect, it would erase one of the most effective tools to fight global warming. Carbon dioxide from vehicle emissions makes up America’s largest contribution to global warming. But the Trump administration insisted the changes will
give industry more flexibility, while making cars safer and cheaper.
Gov. Jerry Brown denounced the move Thursday morning, calling it “a betrayal and an assault on the health of Americans everywhere.”
“California will fight this stupidity in every conceivable way possible,” he vowed in a statement.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra tweeted that his office — which has sued the administration more than 30 times — would use “every legal tool at its disposal to defend today’s national standards and reaffirm the facts and science behind them.”
California has had the autonomy to set its own tougher emission standards for more than 50 years, receiving waivers fromthe EPA to do so. Thirteen other states follow California’s rules, and a third of vehicles sold around the country comply with those regulations.
“This is the beginning of a long and drawn- out legal battle,” predicted Michael Wara, director of the climate and energy policy program at Stanford’s Woods Institute, in an interview. If the rule went into effect, it would make it extremely difficult for California to meet its targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, he said.
The EPA argued that the proposal would remove a burden from the auto industry, save billions of dollars and reduce traffic fatal- ities by encouraging Americans to drive less.
“We are delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American public that his administration would address and fix the current fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards,” Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the EPA, said in a statement. “Our proposal aims to strike the right regulatory balance based on the most recent information and create a 50- state solution that will enable more Americans to afford newer, safer vehicles that pollute less.”
The move provoked a strong response from the environmental community.
“By 2030, the pollution equivalent of this rollback will be like firing up 30 coal power plants,” Paul Cort, an attorney at the ad- vocacy group Earthjustice, said in a statement. “It’s a boon for big oil that ordinary Americans will pay for with their health and their wallets.”
The administration will allow public comments on the proposal and put forward a final rule later this year. California already filed a preemptive lawsuit in May when the administration began considering the rollback. That legal action is ongoing, and an additional suit could be filed after the final rule is released.
According to the EPA proposal, the rule would increase fuel consumption in the U.S. by about half a million barrels per day.
Some auto industry leaders applauded the administration’s proposal — although others worry about abrupt changes in fuel stan- dards and the uncertainty of potential litigation.
“Automakers support continued improvements in fuel economy and flexibilities that incentivize advanced technologies while balancing priorities like affordability, safety, jobs, and the environment,” Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in a statement. “We urge California and the federal government to find a common sense solution that sets continued increases in vehicle efficiency standards while also meeting the needs of America’s drivers.”
The move also cements the divergent paths of California and the federal government on climate issues. While Trump pulled the U. S. out of the global Paris accord on fighting climate change and has worked to weaken a host of environmental regulations, Brown has inked deals with China and other countries to reduce emissions.
In 2008, under the George W. Bush administration, the EPA blocked California’s waiver to set higher standards. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sued the agency, and the Obama administration reinstated the waiver the following year.
In a statement Thursday, Schwarzenegger tore into Trump and “fake conservatives” who try to undermine states’ rights to implement climate measures.
“This is a stupid policy and no one asked for this,” he said. “California has won this battle before. We will win again.”