The White House wants to ensure whatever happens in California doesn’t stay in California – particularly when it comes to vehicles.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved California’s request for a Clean Air Act waiver for its Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) Light- and Medium-Duty Vehicle Standards last month. The waiver gave California the power to require all passenger cars, small trucks, and SUVs be zero emissions by 2035.
The waiver was granted just days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lawsuit filed by Republican-led states challenging the issue.
“[It follows] through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change,” said EPA Commissioner Michael S. Regan.
The new rules will have an immediate impact. Starting next year, 35 percent of all new commercial vehicles sold in California will have to be zero-emissions. So far, eleven states and Washington, D.C. have adopted California’s new regulations.
National energy groups called the waiver a terrible idea, claiming it limits access to affordable vehicles for Americans to help coastal elites and special interests.
“These reckless policies have raised the cost of all vehicles on the market and fail to take into account the needs and realities of most Americans,” said American Energy Alliance President Tom Pyle.
He added the waiver ignored the desires of working and middle-class American families, who rejected the policies President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I look forward to Donald Trump immediately revoking this waiver when he is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States,” he said.
Pennsylvania has not yet adopted the passenger vehicle tailpipe rules. Regulators considered California’s ACC II regulations in 2022 but ultimately abandoned the effort. However, California’s regulations on heavy-duty highway diesel engines and vehicles were accepted. The Keystone State also adopted California’s greenhouse gas rules on Low Emission Vehicles in 2008.
Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature have taken steps to disentangle the state from the Golden State’s strict regulations.
In 2023, the state Senate passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Bradford) to suspend the Pennsylvania Heavy-Duty Diesel Emissions Control Program. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles would instead have been subject to federal regulations. A companion bill was introduced in the House.
The Democrat majority in the House refused to hold a hearing on either measure.
In late 2024, the Commonwealth Court rejected a trucking industry-led suit seeking to end the diesel engine and vehicle rules. The suit could be refiled.
Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro has stayed out of the spotlight on the tailpipe issue – an unsurprising move, as the governor has avoided discussing other controversial environmental proposals. While running for governor in 2022, Shapiro refused to address the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap and trade carbon emissions program. In early 2024, he proposed a Pennsylvania-specific cap-and-trade program which failed to get a hearing in the General Assembly.
Shapiro’s administration signaled support for federal tailpipe rules by joining 21 other states in a legal motion backing EPA vehicle emission rules. The regulations seek to cut emissions 50 percent by 2032.
The motion argued the regulations needed to stay must remain in place because, without them “harmful emissions that threaten public health and the environment will increase.” The suit worried increased emissions “would exacerbate the climate change harms and public health harms.” Attorneys said the states filed the motion to show the need to prevent “any weakening of the standards for model years 2027 through 2032 as well as preserving the ability of EPA to adopt robust standards in the future.”
Shapiro and outgoing Attorney General Michelle Henry’s decision received little attention at the time. Notably, the governor defended EPA tailpipe standards while serving as Pennsylvania AG.
While EV sales rose in America, they lag behind gasoline-powered vehicles. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics from 2023 found EVs make up 1.1 percent of all registered vehicles in America. The EIA projected EVs will make up 15 percent of registered vehicles in 2050.
With California’s new regulations expected to take effect, the American Petroleum Institute (API) warned the rules will benefit China over Americans. API cited the ACC II’s focus on electric batteries versus traditional hybrid technology. Most electric battery components are made in China.
“We urge the incoming administration to swiftly change course,” said API Vice President of Downstream Policy Will Hupman.
