Mario Tama/Getty Images
California’s ability to regulate its own air quality is being defended this week by five automakers. BMW, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen Group and Volvo have filed a motion defending the Golden State’s waiver issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which allows the state to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles entering its borders are sold.
Due to severe air pollution in the 1960s, then-California Governor and future Republican hero Ronald Reagan created the California Air Resources Board to establish a state-wide approach to managing air quality. But in recent years, Reagan’s party has doubled its efforts to reverse the move.
Former President Donald Trump was determined to prevent CARB from regulating the air in California. In September 2019, Trump revoked California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act, intending to bring it under an Environmental Protection Agency weakened by an executive order. Trump’s attack on the skies in California has been supported by automakers such as Toyota and GM, who have tried to lower fuel efficiency standards.
But not all automakers are on board with a plan to pollute the planet for as long as possible. In 2020, BMW, Ford, Honda, VW Group and Volvo agreed with CARB to achieve a 17 percent reduction in emissions, and it is that same group of automakers that filed a motion to intervene, supporting California and the EPA’s recovery of CARBs. exemption.
“We support the EPA’s recent waiver decision to empower California and other states to protect people’s health and fight climate change by setting and enforcing air pollution standards and zero-emission vehicle requirements. This is the right thing to do for people and the planet, but it is also critical to the future success of the auto industry,” said Ford Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel Steven Croley.
