The Trump administration just tore apart decades of U.S. climate policy, but it may have also handed California its golden ticket.<\/p>\n
EPA\u2019s decision last week<\/a> to nix the so-called endangerment finding \u2014 the Obama-era ruling that underpinned the federal government’s authority to develop climate policy \u2014 gives car and truck makers free rein to build models without consideration of greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a major blow for California Democrats and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who\u2019ve hitched their climate ambitions to manufacturers offering more electric vehicles and to drivers adopting the still-maturing technology en masse. (The transportation sector accounts for roughly half of California\u2019s carbon emissions, state officials estimate<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The move tees up a conservative Supreme Court to overturn its 2007 decision affirming EPA\u2019s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. While unwinding Massachusetts v. EPA would represent a monumental reversal of U.S. policy, some legal experts argue it could hand state regulators newfound power to fill the void.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because states are preempted from setting their own tailpipe standards \u2014 a restriction that becomes hard to defend if the federal government bows out of the emissions game.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that happens, then EPA lacks any authority to issue standards, including under a new administration,\u201d said Ann Carlson, who led the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under former President Joe Biden. \u201cThat would leave states as the natural locus for regulatory power.\u201d<\/p>\n That would be paradigm shifting for California air regulators, who in June watched congressional Republicans revoke the EPA waiver<\/a> that gave the state power to set stricter-than-federal tailpipe rules. A world without the endangerment finding could make the politically fraught task of seeking federal approval a hurdle of the past.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s EPA is trying to head off that legal reasoning. The agency’s official repeal<\/a> argues that states are still preempted from developing laws or regulations that \u201cadopt or attempt to enforce any standard relating to the control of emissions from new motor vehicles or engines.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese ‘legal experts’ should read the Clean Air Act before engaging in scare tactics designed to perpetuate unlawful regulations,\u201d EPA spokespeople said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n The question is whether that language would hold up to judicial scrutiny. Carlson said nothing is certain given the makeup of the Supreme Court, but California has a fighting chance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government is trying to argue that states are preempted, but they’re also arguing that the Clean Air Act doesn’t give them the power to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cThat seems like an argument that is inconsistent on its face.\u201d<\/p>\n The question now is whether California and the blue states that have historically followed its lead on auto policy will put the legal theory to the test.<\/p>\n Newsom and state air regulators aren\u2019t talking about the go-it-alone tactic as an option yet. Spokespeople for Newsom\u2019s office declined to answer whether his administration is exploring the idea, instead pointing to the governor\u2019s statement last week<\/a> that California will sue to stop the endangerment finding rollback.<\/p>\n But prominent state lawmakers say the strategy is already being discussed inside the Capitol.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, this has been the topic of conversation,\u201d Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee, said during a press briefing last week. \u201cThere is, I think, a certain irony that in the revocation of the endangerment finding, it actually could provide California with more latitude and more direct responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, this is definitely a conversation, so stay tuned,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a debate the auto industry wants to avoid. While major car companies lobbied Congress to revoke California\u2019s EV sales mandate last year, they stopped short of advocating against the endangerment finding and didn\u2019t explicitly praise<\/a> the repeal last week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe auto industry in America remains focused on preserving vehicle choice for consumers, keeping the industry competitive, and staying on a long-term path of emissions reductions and cleaner vehicles,\u201d said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers.<\/p>\n The auto industry \u2014 which has long advocated for unified regulations across the United States \u2014 now could face a scenario where it\u2019s not only easier for California to issue tailpipe rules, but states like New York or Illinois could also create their own patchwork of standards.<\/p>\n \u201cThey got more than what they asked for,\u201d said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive.<\/p>\n