Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards
In 2002, California enacted AB 1493 (“Pavley Global Warming Bill”), a law that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from light-duty vehicles. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is responsible for setting the standards, which would apply to new vehicles starting in the 2009 model year, if CARB receives a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The standard requires that new vehicles, on average, achieve an emissions reduction of 30 percent by 2016 and covers carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbon emissions.
Under the Federal Clean Air Act, California is the only state with the ability to set standards for motor vehicles, as long as these standards are as stringent as the federal standards and the state receives a waiver from the EPA. Once California receives a waiver from the federal government, other states can adopt California’s standards. More than fifteen states have adopted or have announced their intention to adopt the California standards.
On May 19, 2009, President Obama announced a national standard for passenger vehicles that will be set through a joint rulemaking process between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). By 2016, the federal standard will achieve the same fuel economy improvement as the California standard would have – 35.5mpg – and will also include a greenhouse gas emission limit per vehicle. Although the announcement does not specifically grant the California waiver, California has agreed to amend AB 1493 to conform to the federal standard from 2012 to 2016, if it receives a waiver to set its own vehicle standards after 2016 and enforce its own standards for model years 2009 to 2011. Under this agreement, automakers have also agreed to drop lawsuits against California’s proposed vehicle standard. Read more about the President’s announcement here [1] and California’s statement here [2].
On June 30, 2009 the EPA granted a waiver allowing California to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles within the state. California and the other states which have adopted the California standard have agreed to conform to the federal standard from 2012 to 2106. With the waiver decision, they will be able to regulate vehicle emissions from now until the federal standard takes effect in 2012, and after 2016. The EPA's notice of decision granting the waiver can be seen here [3].
For more information on California vehicle standards, click here [4].