The move was the latest in running political clashes between the most populous U.S. state and President Donald Trump’s administration over issues running from climate change to immigration.
The California Air Resources Board, the state’s air quality regulator, affirmed a provision in its greenhouse gas vehicle regulation that establishes that only cars meeting current federal standards for model years 2017 through 2025 comply with the state’s standards and can be sold there.
The vote took place at the board’s monthly meeting in Sacramento.
The Trump administration proposed last month to freeze federal fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026. In that proposal, the administration said stricter emissions standards make vehicles more expensive and less safe.
California’s position is nationally significant because the state is the largest U.S. auto market and boasts the nation’s most aggressive policies to address climate change.
Also, a dozen states and the District of Columbia have adopted California’s emissions rules, accounting for more than a third of all U.S. vehicle sales.
California has long been allowed under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waiver to set its own, stricter vehicle emissions rules to fight heavy smog in Los Angeles and other urban areas. The Trump administration has proposed revoking that authority, something that could cast doubt on the state’s powers to sidestep federal standards.
In a statement, CARB Chair Mary Nichols said the state would “continue to work to keep a single national program,” but that the vote “ensures that California and 12 other states will not fall victim to the Trump administration’s rollback of vehicle standards should its proposal be finalized.”
Read more at California Moves to Protect Auto Emissions Rules From Trump Rollback
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