Oakland, CA…On behalf of California and leading a multistate coalition of 23 attorneys general and four cities, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to help defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s final rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles emissions standards for model years 2027-2032 (Final Rule). The Final Rule sets stricter tailpipe emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles for harmful air pollutants, including greenhouse gases (GHG), nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. Currently, the rule is being challenged by 25 Republican-led states seeking to curb the agency’s efforts to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.

“This lawsuit is just another attempt to take the country backwards in the fight against climate change and air pollution,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “California has supported the EPA’s authority to set feasible, common-sense, technology-based vehicle standards against similar challenges before, and we will continue to stand on the side grounded in facts that will protect public health and our environment.”

“California won’t sit back – we’re not going to watch radical Republicans put the profits of big oil over the health of our planet,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “We’re stepping in, joining the Biden Administration to defend their clean car rules from these challenges.”

“In California, we know that air quality challenges need to be tackled with innovation and urgency, and that manufacturers and consumers are stepping up to do their part to work toward a healthier future. Now is not the time to slow down progress on working toward a zero-emissions future, and California stands behind efforts to make sure that the U.S. is a leader on clean vehicle technology and environmental justice,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph.

Transportation is the leading source of GHG emissions in the country, and passenger cars account for more than half of those transportation emissions. Motor vehicle emissions also contribute to ozone, particulate matter, and air toxics, all of which are linked to premature death, respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, and cancer, among other serious health impacts.

Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set emission standards for air pollutants from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines that cause or contribute to air pollution and endanger public health or welfare. The Final Rule will result in a 50% reduction in light-duty vehicle (i.e. passenger cars) GHG emissions and a 44% reduction in medium-duty vehicle (i.e. large pickup trucks and vans, including delivery vans) GHG emissions compared to model year 2026 levels, and it will encourage the ongoing transition to electric vehicles. The emissions standards in the Final Rule will also cut nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic gases by half and particulate matter by over 95%.

This intervention continues California’s support for the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce emissions from light- and medium-duty vehicles and EPA’s authority to set stringent vehicle emissions standards.  In 2022, a similar coalition of Republican-led states attacked EPA’s light- and medium-duty vehicles emissions standards for model years 2023-2026 and EPA’s authority to set these standards, and California, leading a coalition of 27 states and cities, intervened in support of EPA.

Attorney General Bonta, Governor Newsom, and CARB are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, the city and county of Denver, and the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York in filing the motion.

A copy of the motion can be found here.