California is set to defend Obama-era vehicle efficiency standards which called for doubling of the average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to about 50 mpg by 2025. VideoBlocks photo.
EPA is expected to declare that Obama-era vehicle efficiency standards are “not appropriate”
California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra says he is prepared to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the Obama-era vehicle efficiency standards, which Becerra is concerned the EPA will declare “not appropriate” in the coming days.
According to Reuters, such a declaration would allow the EPA to weaken federal standards that are aimed at doubling the average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to approximately 80 miles per gallon by 2025.
The current vehicle efficiency standards were introduced by former President Barack Obama and had backing from automakers.
“We are going to do everything that can been done to defend these standards,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra told Reuters. “So far, when we have been challenged on environmental standards we have had a good record in court. We haven’t lost a case.”
The standards were agreed upon in 2011 after the California air emissions regulator and the Obama administration came to an agreement with major automakers.
However, the plan included a “midterm review” which is to occur by April 2018 to determine if the final requirements were feasible. EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman told Reuters that the recommendation is under interagency review and will be completed by the April 1 deadline.
Should the Trump administration weaken the federal vehicle efficiency standards, California is expected to enforce its own stricter rules which over 10 other states, including New York, will follow.
California is the most populous state in the United States and a critical market for automakers, who are concerned a dispute of this kind would lead to differing standards across the US.
Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, told Reuters in January that “California doesn’t have the authority to set the standards for the rest of the country”.
These comments left some California state officials wondering if the Trump administration would attempt to revoke California’s authority to set its own standards.
However, Becerra says he is confident the courts will side with California should the EPA try to weaken the federal vehicle efficiency standards or if the Trump administration tries to take away the state’s authority to set its own standards under the federal Clean Air Act.
“We are not yet at round one and we think we have some good knockout punches for the next rounds,” he told Reuters.
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