Report: Freeze on U.S. Emission Limits Targets California’s CO2 Rules

A federal plan to freeze future emission and fuel economy standards at 2020 levels also aims to take away California’s power to set its own emission limits, a source tells Bloomberg News.

Such a plan has been widely expected. The Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration has been indicating for months that it wants to cut the state’s regulatory powers.

California has declared its intent to implement the current federal 2022-2025 emission limits for carbon dioxide. But doing so would raise real-world fuel economy for piston-powered vehicles more than 30% over the period. That’s because an engine’s CO₂ emissions are directly related to the amount of carbon-based fuel consumed.

Federal law dictates that fuel economy standards can be set only at the federal level. California has a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate CO₂, thereby giving it de facto power to influence fuel economy performance.

Bloomberg’s source says the rollback proposal sent to the White House this week would rescind the EPA waiver. California has vowed a court challenge if that happens, noting that it has power under the U.S. Clean Air Act to set its own pollution limits.