On Wednesday, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was granting a waiver to the California Air Resources Board so that it may begin implementation of new regulations that will, essentially, ban gasoline-powered vehicles in the Golden State by 2035.
California first announced in 2020 that it intended to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2035. In 2022, the state’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) was passed, which updated tailpipe emissions standards. All vehicles sold in California must have “net zero” emissions by 2035.
The waiver from the EPA allows California to mandate that 35 percent of new cars and light-duty trucks sales be zero emissions by 2026, and that they achieve emissions levels 90 percent below current levels by 2027. The EPA is granting the waivers under the auspices of the 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,” said Michael Regan of the EPA. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”
While 15 states have announced similar moves away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles, the California ban is the most draconian. Climate zealots are concerned that the incoming Donald Trump administration may quickly move to rescind the waivers.
Stopping Trump
Some believe that granting the waivers under the Clean Air Act may be a roadblock to any quick moves to rescind the waivers by Trump.
“Notably, in granting the Advanced Clean Car waiver, EPA relied heavily on the fact that the program cuts traditional air pollutants, including those that cause ozone pollution, from vehicles,” wrote Ann Carlson of Legal Planet. “The fact that the standards also cut greenhouse gases is a secondary consideration. That makes the legal basis for the waiver very strong and will make it much tougher for the Trump Administration first to withdraw them and then to defend those withdrawals in court.
So climate zealots are already planning their legal battles for the incoming Trump administration.
But the Trump administration appears ready for that fight.
“Fresh off imposing his insane, job-killing electric vehicle mandate at the federal level, Crooked Joe Biden is preparing to slaughter the remnants of the U.S. auto-industry by approving California’s waiver request outlawing the sale of all gasoline-powered automobiles,” incoming Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during the campaign.
Consumer Choice
Some climate zealots absurdly called the waivers “a win for consumer choice.”
“We’re thankful the EPA is approving the next generation of clean car and truck standards so that states can get moving on implementing their programs to achieve their public health and clean air goals. Auto manufacturers prioritize delivering clean, zero-emission cars to states that have adopted ACC II, so this is a win for consumer choice and healthier communities,” Sierra Club Director Katherine Garci said in a statement.
Others question the legality of the action and claim it will bring harm to consumers.
“Contrary to claims on the campaign trail that they would never tell Americans what kinds of cars we have to drive, the Biden-Harris EPA just did exactly that by greenlighting California’s ban on sales of all new gas and traditional hybrid vehicles,” said Chet Thompson of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. “These policies will harm consumers—millions of whom don’t even live in California—by taking away their ability to buy new gas cars in their home states and raising vehicle and transportation costs.”
Climate zealots such as California Governor Gavin Newsom aren’t going to make anything easy for the Trump administration. And their Deep State pals in the alphabet agencies like the EPA will do their part in making the path to common sense government as difficult as possible. As much as many would like to see the climate zealot movement fade away into obscurity, it’s not going anywhere soon.
