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Trump or no Trump, California is worried about its climate rules
The U.S. Supreme Court on July 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
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DREW ANGERER
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AFP and Getty Images
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Topline:
California Democrats are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to grant California eight pending waivers to implement its clean air and climate regulations ahead of the election. But no matter who wins in November, many of the state's rules could end up before a Supreme Court stacked with appointees by former President Donald Trump who are hostile to climate regulation.
Why it matters: California’s environmental regulators are no strangers to legal threats from industry groups. But recent Supreme Court cases that limited EPA’s ability to protect wetlands and regulate greenhouse gases have climate leaders worried that California’s nation-leading environmental rules could be next.
On those cases: The justices have any number of tools to strike down EPA approvals. One is the major questions doctrine, which bars agencies from resolving questions of “vast economic and political significance” without clear authorization from Congress. Another is the recent overturning of the Chevron deference, which rolls back the authority of federal agencies to interpret ambiguous language in laws.
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California’s strategy: California government lawyers are targeting conventional pollution, rather than just greenhouse gases, which the Supreme Court has shown more skepticism of using the Clean Air Act to address. The state has also been making progress getting car companies like Ford, Volkswagen and Honda to follow California’s tailpipe emissions rule regardless of electoral and legal outcomes.
Industry pushback: Groups representing trucking fleets and the rail industry have filed more than a half-dozen lawsuits challenging California’s zero-emission vehicle rules, arguing they violate interstate trade rules regulated by Congress and will put smaller operators out of business. Those industries have shown no interest in reaching agreements.
For more, read the full story on POLITICO and in POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
This story is published in partnership with POLITICO.
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