Trump Tweets End of California Emissions Waiver

President Donald Trump today tweeted that his administration will revoke a federal waiver that allows California to set its own limits for greenhouse gas emissions.

The move, to be formally announced tomorrow, has been expected for months. But how it will be accomplished isn’t yet clear. California was given the power to set its own emission standards by the Clean Air Act of 1970. Many experts say nothing short of a Congressional vote can take that away.

The Trump administration apparently will zero in on a waiver granted in 2013 that refers specifically to California’s right to limit carbon dioxide.

CO₂ wasn’t among the gases specified by the Clean Air Act as a pollutant to be regulated. But that changed when the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that CO₂ is indeed a greenhouse gas and thus is worthy of regulation.

Separately, the right to set fuel economy standards for cars resides exclusively with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That authority does not extend to California.

But any emission rule that limits CO₂ emissions also becomes a de facto fuel economy standard. That’s because the amount of  CO₂ generated by a petroleum-burning engine is directly related to its fuel consumption. This means that a California CO₂ standard could conflict with an NHTSA fuel economy standard.

At the moment, the issue is moot, because U.S. and California emission standards are the same. Also, EPA and NHTSA rules are coordinated so EPA’s CO2 limits align with NHTSA’s corporate average fuel economy rules for carmakers.

That will change when the Trump administration follows through late this year with its vow to dial back current Obama-era emission standards scheduled to take effect in 2021-2025.

California has vowed to enforce tougher standards regardless of the rollback. Doing so would create two sets of standards and a lengthy legal wrangle—two situations that carmakers and dozens of states have urged federal and California regulators to avoid.

In July, California struck a non-binding agreement with BMW, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen to adopt a modified version of the Obama standards. The Dept. of Justice now is investigating whether the carmakers broke antitrust laws by committing to the deal.

Trump claims there will be “very little difference” between the new standards his administration is developing and those agreed to by California and the carmakers. He claims his plan will result in “far less expensive” and “substantially” safer vehicles, which will prompt greater demand for new models.

Critics agree that freezing emission standards would help control new-car prices. But they point out there is no direct connection between emissions and safety, They also assert that a freeze would cost consumers more because vehicles would use more fuel.