California Air Resources Board
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Automakers frustrated with the lack of progress toward federal fuel economy and emissions standards made a deal with California.
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California sues Trump administration again over fuel economy fines
The federal government now plans to freeze fines in the enforcement of fuel economy regulations, and California has waged a lawsuit against the plan.
Eric C. Evarts -
EPA, CARB escalate climate change war of words in Capitol Hill showdown
A dispute between federal and California regulators is looking increasingly likely, and bound for a court settlement.
Aaron Cole -
California overrules EPA emissions freeze for cars sold in the state
At its meeting on Friday, the California Air Resources Board officially confirmed that it will stick with planned increases in emissions and fuel economy standards for cars sold in the state. The move was expected after CARB said in August that it would not follow the Trump Administration's move to...
Eric C. Evarts -
Earth Day: 10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & Hyundai
Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are rolling out to California buyers in small numbers with two models on the market, and hydrogen stations slowly expanding outside a narrow slice of Los Angeles. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle first went on sale in California at the end of 2016, and 2018 models...
John Voelcker -
Deal between EPA, California on auto emissions may still be possible
Over the many months EPA administrator Scott Pruitt signaled his intention to revisit the Obama administration's emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles, California warned that it would not go along with any reductions. The state has been allowed to set its own emission standards for...
John Voelcker -
Despite the sturm und drang around the announcement by embattled EPA chief Scott Pruitt that he will relax emission limits for 2022 through 2025 vehicles, not much will happen immediately. His determination last week that the Obama administration was "incorrect" and that the limits on those vehicles weren't needed kicks off a lengthy process of rulemaking. If, that is, the reasoning in his determination holds up in court—which it may not. DON'T MISS: Pruitt's EPA decision: 38-page intention vs 1,217 pages of analysis It was clear from the very start there would be court challenges, by...
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What China learned from California about getting electric cars on its roads
In the U.S., California has long been viewed culturally as the crazy, free-spirited cousin. As Californians like to point out, their state of 40 million people is also the world's sixth-largest economy all by itself. Resolutely progressive, it has regulated vehicle emissions for five decades and...
John Voelcker -
VW committed to sell 2 new electric cars in California by Dec 2019: what are they?
The Volkswagen diesel emission scandal has now largely vanished from U.S. media coverage, much to VW's relief. Tens of thousands of bought-back TDI diesel vehicles still sit in fields awaiting modification and resale, or some other disposition. But among the thousands of pages of legal documents to...
John Voelcker -
EPA to ease emission limits, reports say, setting up clash with California
The omens have been accumulating for months, as bits of information dribble out of the regulatory rumor mill in Washington, D.C. Now we have the most concrete reports yet that the U.S. EPA plans to modify exhaust emission limits for vehicles in model years 2022 through 2025. The EPA delivered its...
John Voelcker -
Pruitt won't let California set emission standards; EPA not looking at post-2025 rules
Now, it's war, in the words of California's lead emission regulator. In what Bloomberg News called a "wide-ranging interview" with EPA chief Scott Pruitt, he indicated the agency does not intend to let California set the agenda for national emission limits on vehicles. Bringing California into line...
John Voelcker -
California, allies ready for emission-law war with Trump EPA, CARB head says
With the release of proposed new and lower fuel-economy rules expected from the NHTSA by March 30, many eyes have turned to the powerful California Air Resources Board. The state's pioneering role in reducing emissions and cutting air pollution predates even the existence of the U.S. Environmental...
John Voelcker -
As automakers await the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new fuel-economy rules for 2022 through 2025, due March 30, regulators from California and Washington are still hammering out the specifics. A meeting between state and federal regulators on fuel-economy and emissions targets took place on Monday as both sides attempt to avoid a prolonged and costly legal battle that could put the final regulations into limbo for months or years. The current targets see automakers aiming for an average EPA window-sticker rating of roughly 38 mpg across all vehicles by 2025, but the Trump...
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California OKs more than half a billion dollars to clean up freight trucks, trains, buses
California is using the growing sums of money it receives from its emission cap-and-trade auction for good, including to tackle up some of the state's most egregious transportation polluters. In mid-December, California announced it would invest $663 million in a plan to clean up particularly dirty...
Mark Stevenson -
CARB steps up shadow-EPA role with new building, vehicle testing lab
For 45 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been charged with protecting the U.S. from pollution in its air, water, and land. Under the Trump Administration, its administrator Scott Pruitt is aggressively muzzling and removing scientists, eradicating climate-science from its activities...
John Voelcker -
California mulls ban on new cars with engines, joining China in climate action
With China mulling an eventual ban on sales of cars with gasoline or diesel engines, the world's largest car market made it clear earlier this month that it intends to force a conversion to zero-emission vehicles. Now California, which has led the U.S. in environmental awareness and emission...
John Voelcker -
States to force emission, fuel-economy rules showdown with Trump Administration?
Continuing political turmoil and news coverage of the Trump Administration haven't stopped the president's agency heads from drastically reshaping policies on energy, the environment, and emissions. Comments are now being taken on the reopened EPA limits on vehicular carbon emissions for 2022...
John Voelcker -
Modifications to oldest, dirtiest VW, Audi TDI diesels approved by EPA
VW Group of North America now owns hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen and Audi TDI diesel vehicles it has bought back from owners under the terms of various diesel emission scandal settlements. Yesterday, it got some very good news: the EPA has approved a modification that will it allow it to...
John Voelcker -
The sales growth of electric cars has made strides in recent years, and California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate has much to do with that. The program adopted by the California Air Resources Board 20 years ago, and much modified since, requires carmakers to earn a certain number of zero-emission credits for vehicles sold in California. What's less well known is that some automakers have already surpassed the expectations, according to David Reichmuth, senior engineer in the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Program DON’T MISS: UPS electric van with fuel-cell range extender...
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Toyota 'Project Portal' hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty semi tractor as proof of concept
The challenges of building fueling infrastructure for passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are well known by now. Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai now lease low volumes of fuel-cell vehicles in selected areas of California where a few dozen hydrogen fueling stations are now up and running. The...
John Voelcker -
California reaffirms state emission, electric-car rules for 2025
The California Air Resources Board voted Friday to confirm its stricter emissions standards for 2025, setting up a potential clash with the Trump Administration. The CARB vote reaffirms a decision by the EPA in the waning days of the Obama Administration to lock in emissions standards for vehicles...
Stephen Edelstein -
California conundrum: 2018 Leaf, Bolt EV, or Mirai fuel-cell car?
California is very different from the rest of the United States. All by itself, it's the sixth largest economy in the world. One eighth of all Americans live there. It's home to Silicon Valley, as well as much of the global entertainment industry, and it produces a large proportion of the nation's...
John Voelcker -
Which states follow California's emission and zero-emission vehicle rules?
California leads the nation in policies that promote reductions of carbon emissions from road vehicles. It is unique in having a federal waiver that allows it to set its own, stricter emissions standards, along with a zero-emission vehicle mandate that requires automakers reaching certain sales...
Stephen Edelstein -
California goal: eliminate gasoline, diesel light vehicles altogether
What if gasoline and diesel cars and light trucks were simply eliminated altogether from the new vehicles sold in a state? Residents of one state in the U.S. may, eventually, find out. California already leads the nation in promoting zero-emission vehicles, but the Golden State may soon take that...
Stephen Edelstein