California vs. Trump Administration: A Battle Over Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards

California is gearing up for a battle over the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of existing regulations that significantly increase vehicle fuel efficiency standards by 2025. Greenhouse gas reduction and lower vehicle emissions to combat climate change are cornerstones of California’s current environmental policy. California will assert its rights to continue to regulate vehicle emissions under a waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act. The dispute will provide an opportunity to reinforce the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act to reduce the public health threats of climate change. The battle could prove to be a test of the Trump administration’s plans to roll back other environmental protection regulations.

The undoing of the regulations will not be an easy process. It will involve a public and lengthy administrative process and inevitably end up in court. Tim Cremin, Chair of Meyers Nave’s Climate Change and Green Initiatives Practice Group, published an article in Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report that outlines the possible paths this battle will take and the steps and outcomes that could occur along the way. Please click here to read his article.