Trump Administration Attempts to Bar California from Setting Vehicle Emissions Rules

California has vowed to challenge the Trump administration effort to bar California from setting vehicle emissions rules, arguing that the United States has an obligation to protect the environment for future generations.

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EPA

Reuters

The Trump administration will announce as early as Wednesday it is revoking California’s authority to set its own vehicle greenhouse gas standards and blocking states from setting tailpipe emission rules — a move that will spark a furious legal challenge, two auto industry officials said on Tuesday according to Reuters.

Trump met with senior officials and agreed to green light the plan to bar California from setting fuel efficiency standards or requiring zero emission vehicles, Reuters reported last week. The White House declined to comment.

The administration plans to issue separate rules rolling back Obama-era fuel economy requirements in the coming weeks.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, speaking to a group of auto dealers, said Tuesday that “in the very near future, the Trump administration will begin taking the steps necessary to establish one set of national fuel-economy standards.”

Under Trump, federal regulators have backed freezing emissions requirements for new cars and trucks at 2020 levels through 2026. Administration officials say its final regulation will include a modest boost in annual efficiency requirements but far less than what the Obama administration set in 2012.

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