Five major automakers have backed the Biden administration’s efforts to restore California’s ability to set its own emissions and fuel economy rules.
Accordingly ReutersFord, Volkswagen, Honda, BMW and Volvo, backed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are backing a lawsuit to restore California’s disputed power under former President Donald Trump.
Seventeen states in the United States have agreed to adopt California’s emissions and fuel economy regulations. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have supported the refusal to reinstate California’s rule-making body, but not all states are on board. In fact, 17 Republican Attorneys filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the EPA’s actions.
Read more: The EPA is set to relinquish California’s right to set its own emissions rules this week
The EPA will begin to make a number of changes to emissions and fuel economy regulations that have been amended or repealed during the Trump administration. Current regulations require a 28.3% reduction in vehicle emissions by 2026.
In a recent statement, California Gov. Gavin Newom said the state will “work with the federal government to protect against these radical actions aimed at improving California’s clean transportation future.”
California is not only a leader in compliance with strict emissions and fuel economy regulations. The state also intends to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines in 2035, and this date can be extended to five years. Major California cities such as Culver City, Auckland and Berkeley are already aiming to reach the 2030s, while other states, including California, including Massachusetts, will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
