- The Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly considering a waiver allowing California to enforce its ban on combustion vehicle sales by 2035.
- If the waiver is accepted, it will be part of the Biden administration's historic clean energy efforts.
- The incoming Trump administration will likely attempt to block the gas car ban, but could run into delays and legal hurdles.
California is the first state planning to phase out the sales of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, but that decision isn't federally approved yet. Now President Biden is racing to safeguard his climate legacy before leaving office next month, pushing forward multiple climate-focused agendas in the final days of his tenure. That includes greenlighting California's ambitious 2035 gas car ban as soon as next week, two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
The transportation sector accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and passenger cars account for more than half of transportation emissions. Apart from planet-warming carbon dioxide, gas and diesel cars also emit hazardous byproducts like nitrous dioxide, carbon monoxide and soot that are directly linked to lung diseases, aggravated asthma and respiratory illnesses. The public health risks from gas car emissions have been widely researched and reported.
President-elect Donald Trump will likely attempt to revoke California's gas car ban, but he could run into legal obstacles. California used to have the most polluted air in the country historically, but things changed dramatically after the Clean Air Act of the 1970s that allowed the EPA to grant the state a waiver to set its own emissions standards to curb pollution. Now California is the biggest market in America for EVs and its efforts to move away from gas cars are recognized worldwide.
The Environmental Protection Agency already allows California to set stricter climate and emissions rules than the rest of the U.S. The zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) standards set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have been adopted by 17 other states including Washington, Colorado and New York. Some of those states have also shown the intent to end gas cars sales next decade. (On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging California's authority to set its own emissions standards.)
The Biden administration is making a flurry of last-minute moves to lock in its climate plans before Trump takes over and threatens to reverse years of progress. Rivian just scored a massive $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to build its Georgia plant for next-gen models. The DOE approved a $1.5 billion loan for EVgo to roll out 7,500 new chargers across the country. And days after the presidential election, battery recycler Li-Cycle landed a $445 million loan to build a plant in Rochester, New York.
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