cAlifornia has long been one of America’s outstanding environmental warriors, setting groundbreaking environmental standards for cars and trucks that go far beyond what the federal government requires. Vehicles across the country are cleaner, more efficient and have more electricity.
But that could all change if Donald Trump and his Republican allies could revoke the state’s ability to set their own stricter emissions standards amid the White House crusades to combat climate-friendly policies.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set and updated all states’ own federal standards for smog and emissions from cars and trucks, which the Biden administration tightened last year, saving thousands of American drivers on fuel costs and maintenance over the lifespan of vehicles.
But for decades, California has been recognized for its ability to tighten these rules to address some of the worst smog and air quality issues in the country related to the many health effects that disproportionately affect people of color.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to reverse the exemption, igniting anger from Democrats calling it a “nuclear” option, calling it an unprecedented, illegal use of law. The government’s Accountability Office and the senator agreed, saying that the EPA exemption is not subject to the Review Act.
The House of Representatives approved a similar resolution earlier this month. The resolution is now going to the White House, where Trump is expected to sign them.
“The move will harm public health and degrade the air quality of millions of children and people across the country,” said Senators Sheldon White House, Senators Sheldon White House and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Kathy Harris, director of Clean Vehicles for the Natural Resources Defense Council, stressed that the ability to mandate strict emission standards for California cars, trucks and buses has been around for nearly 60 years.
The exemption includes rules to increase the share of electric vehicles each year among all new cars and truck sales, requiring the car company to gradually introduce cleaner vehicles.
She described the exemption as a “quadruple victory,” benefiting public health, air quality, driver pockets and the economy as a whole.
“These exemptions are neither new nor novel,” Harris said in an interview. “California has historically been an innovator in systems that helps produce cleaner air. California’s capabilities are a direct attack on its ability to limit air pollution and health hazards.”
She added that the exemption will soon lead to an increase in the pollution of the country’s roads.
More than a dozen states have followed the leadership of California emission standards, according to the California Air Resources Commission. Currently, the standard covers almost 40% of new lightweight vehicle registrations, and covers more than a quarter of heavy-duty vehicles, like trucks across the US.
Automakers also follow California emissions standards, allowing them to continue selling cars there as the state is the fourth largest economy on the planet.
California Governor Gavin Newsom raised the nation’s future ante in 2020, declaring his state would ban all new gas-powered vehicles from sale by 2035. Eleven has joined plans to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by the 2035 deadline.
Joe Biden’s administration approved the plan at the end of his term. But Trump is a fierce opponent of many of the country’s climate efforts – he vowed to see them turn around.
“California imposes the most ridiculous vehicle regulations around the world and is obligated to move to all electric vehicles,” Trump said in his campaign last year. “I’ll finish that.”
Wednesday’s newspaper fought as a ffin nail for decades of public health advancement with the American auto industry.
“The US Senate has options: either hand over control of the American automotive industry to China, choking children’s lungs, or moving forward and support the Clean Air policies that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fought so hard,” he challenged Republicans to a statement. “Are you with China or America?”
The Senate decision could have drastic impacts, far beyond the state’s borders.
Harris said she recently took a photo of what would look like in cities across the country in the 1960s before the Clean Air Act, an inventive environmental law that regulates the country’s air quality, was in effect. She described the normal levels of California smog as covering conditions similar to the apocalyptic clouds of wildfire smoke that have come down during recent fire season.
The American Lung Association also discovered last month that Los Angeles remained the country’s most smog city, even in 25 years of 26 years of tracking despite decades of improvement in air quality.
“I think we’ve forgotten what our air looks like,” Harris said. “We take it for granted because it is a policy that has been around for a long time and we don’t really recognize these direct benefits.
“We still have a long way to go, and we haven’t managed to completely clean the air yet,” she added. “These types of policies help ensure we are moving in a positive direction.”