Just weeks after President Trump signaled he’s ready to roll back tough federal vehicle fuel standards, California’s clean-air authority on Friday affirmed that it won’t budge on its own tough standards.
The California Air Resources Board on Friday reaffirmed its own set of regulatory standards for the automotive industry, setting it and 12 other mostly East and West Coast states that are likely to follow its lead on a different path than the rest of the nation.
The 16-member board of California regulators voted unanimously to reaffirm its existing standards for model years 2022 to 2025 for zero emission vehicle sales and greenhouse gas emissions in California despite pleas from the industry for changes.
The board also decided to begin a process to consider post-2025 standards in order to fulfill state laws that mandate cuts in pollution.
“Based on extensive analysis done, the data supports the conclusion that the 2022 to 2025 model year standards are appropriate as developed,” said Pippin Mader, an air resources engineer at the California Air Resources Board.
CARB’s refusal to budge was cheered by environmental groups but raise concerns among the auto industry that manufacturers will wind up making cars for two different automotive markets within the U.S. — one regulated by California standards and another regulated by federal standards.
Last week, the Trump administration signaled it plans to roll back national standards when it reversed a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stay on course with regulations through 2025. The EPA now plans to resume its review of regulations for the 2022 to 2025 model year vehicles and is widely expected to grant automakers more flexibility to meet greenhouse gas emission standards.
“What were you thinking …when you threw yourselves upon the mercy of the Trump administration to solve your problems?” Mary Nichols, the board’s chairwoman, asked auto industry representatives during the hearing in California on Friday. “Why do another review if the current program is basically OK?”
John Bozzella, CEO of industry trade group Global Automakers, said what the auto industry has been saying repeatedly for the past year: That both federal automotive regulations and California automotive regulations adopted in 2011 are out of date and out of sync with current market conditions.
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