California wants to bid adieu to new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The Biden administration is expected to grant the state’s request this week, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions confirmed to Power Switch. That would set in motion one of the most consequential climate policies in the country — if it can survive the incoming Trump administration. (The Washington Post first reported the news). Transportation accounts for the biggest share of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. If California bans the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles, that could dramatically and swiftly reshape the industry. Not only is the state the fifth largest economy in the world, but 11 other states — totaling 30 percent of the U.S. car market — plan to enact California’s standards, writes Mike Lee. The incoming Trump administration will no doubt try to revoke the Environmental Protection Agency’s expected waiver allowing California and other states to enact the ban. President-elect Donald Trump has long despised the fact that California is allowed to set tougher clean air standards than the federal government. The Clean Air Act makes an exception for California due to its historical status as the state with the most polluted air. In recent years, California has sought waivers from EPA to curb not only toxic pollutants from tailpipes but also greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, when California’s air pollution regulator first approved the state’s plan to phase out gas cars, Trump called the standards the “most ridiculous … of anywhere in the world.” “I will terminate that,” he said. During his first term, Trump revoked an EPA waiver that allowed California to set its own car emissions standards (which the Biden administration then reinstated). But the program has so far survived broader legal attack. This week, in fact, the Supreme Court took up a case related to a challenge of California’s waivers, but declined to consider the broader question of whether the state should retain its legal authority to set the nation’s strongest auto pollution standards, writes Lesley Clark. The justices will instead only consider whether a group of oil industry trade associations has standing to challenge California’s pollution regulations. California Gov. Gavin Newson has pledged to fight Trump’s attempts to meddle with his state’s electric vehicle and climate pollution goals, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle. Getting Biden’s EPA to grant outstanding waivers before Trump takes power is part of that effort, as Alex Nieves reported last month. California has a total of eight waivers awaiting EPA approval for regulations that would clamp down on pollution. “It’s harder for the Trump administration to run the whole process of revoking waivers,” Matt Davis, a former EPA health scientist now with the League of Conservation Voters, told Alex. “It’s not hard at all to just can a waiver that’s not done yet, and both the careers and the political [appointees] at EPA are well aware of that fact.” Reporter Corbin Hiar contributed.
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