The Biden administration is preparing a waiver that lets California establish its own, stricter standards for vehicle emissions.
According to a report, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson Nick Conger confirmed that the agency’s final decision regarding the waiver will be announced soon.
In 2019, the Trump administration rolled back California’s decades-old waiver that permitted the state to establish its air pollution standards. The administration of President Joe Biden declared last year that it would begin getting the waiver back in place.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the move.
California Air Resources Board (CARB) member Daniel Sperling told CNN that the state will not utilize its waiver to establish stricter standards for cars and light trucks. Instead, it will use the current administration’s EPA standards. The new federal fuel emissions were finalized in December. These set standards for those vehicles to 40 miles per gallon by the 2026 model year.
Sperling said that the only place where the state is likely to go further than the federal government is in setting the standards for heavy-duty trucks.
“California has decided it will go along with the federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles,” Sperling said. “Where it’s diverging is these heavy-duty and light-duty zero-emission rules for cars and trucks.”
In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order calling all vehicles sold in the state must be emission-free by 2035.
Exciting news about California getting back its power to set tougher car emissions standards. It’s awesome that Governor Newsom and others are on board for cleaner air. What do you think?