California AG Testified at EPA Hearing on Vehicle Emissions Standards Reductions

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra testified during the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) first public hearing for its proposed rule rolling back emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2021 through 2026, and revoking California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act to set vehicle emissions standards more stringent than those set by the federal government. AG Becerra emphasized that California’s leadership on clean energy has been an economic boon for the state, and pointed out that the State’s historic leadership on emissions standards has not stopped it from becoming the fifth-largest economy in the world. AG Becerra also rejected the legality of the Trump administration’s proposal to revoke California’s waiver to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards, noting that California has obtained more than 100 Clean Air Act waivers over the past 40 years and the EPA has never previously revoked a waiver.