WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The incoming Trump administration is likely to try to reverse the action.
The California rule is stricter than a federal rule adopted this year that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles.
EPA said its review found that opponents of the two waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty vehicles 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.
Even so, the waiver is likely to be short-lived. President-elect Donald Trump 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Trump rescinded California’s authority on emissions in 2019, only to be reversed three years later by the Biden EPA, which restored the state’s authority in 2022.
Any effort by the new administration is likely to spawn a new set of legal challenges that could delay any action.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who often touts California’s leadership on climate policy, has cited the advanced clean-cars rule as a key accomplishment.
Major automakers support the state standards “ and California is hitting our goals years ahead of schedule,” Newsom said earlier this year. “We won’t stop fighting to protect our communities from pollution and the climate crisis.”
Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and other major automakers are meeting current California emission standards, but some major car companies questioned the latest EPA waiver.
Most of the Democratic-leaning states that have adopted California’s rules — clustered along the West Coast and in the Northeast — are not selling anywhere near the 35% level of EV sales required next year and are unlikely to meet the 2035 target of 100% EV sales, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a large industry group.
“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,” said John Bozzella, the group’s CEO.
Automakers are producing electric vehicles, Bozzella said, “but there’s a huge gap between these EV sales mandates and a customer’s reasonable expectation they can still choose what kind of vehicle to drive.” He expects Trump to revoke the California waiver next year.
Scott Vazin, a spokesman for Toyota in North America, said approval of the California waiver “will distort the auto industry as companies funnel zero-emission vehicles to the states that have adopted California’s rules.” If a customer in a state that follows California can’t afford an EV “or it doesn’t meet their needs, there may not be a non-electric vehicle on the lot to purchase for their mobility needs,” Vazin said.
Environmental groups 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 waiver allows California to set more stringent emissions limits than the national standard.
The high court will not be reviewing the waiver itself but a related issue: whether fuel producers have legal standing to challenge the federal waiver. 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.
