California and four major automakers have reached a deal to cut tailpipe emissions annually through 2026 model-year vehicles, in an attempt to avert the Trump administration's plan to freeze fuel economy standards over the same period.
But the issue will still likely be decided in court, as the Environmental Protection Agency called the move "a PR stunt that does nothing to further the one national standard that will provide certainty and relief for American consumers."
The Trump administration's proposal to freeze the standards would increase US oil demand by an estimated 500,000 b/d.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has said the agency plans to adopt the final rule later this summer or fall, a target that has been delayed many times.
The voluntary framework -- reached between the California Air Resources Board and Ford, Honda, BMW of North America and Volkswagen Group of America -- would deliver the same greenhouse gas reductions as the existing Obama-era standards in five years, instead of four.
CARB Chair Mary Nichols said in a press call Thursday that the automakers agreed from the outset of the talks that they would support the state's "right to continue adopting standards that are stricter than the federal standards because we need them to meet our air quality, public health goals as well as climate goals."
The state will continue talks with other automakers to expand the deal, Nichols said.
Asked if the Trump administration would be forced to recognize the framework if more automakers join it, she said: "We've seen examples in recent months where they have been able to change positions. What we've shown them is there's a way they can change positions, and we hope they will take advantage of it."
BOOMING US OIL OUTPUT
Automakers had initially pushed the Trump administration to weaken the Obama administration's greenhouse gas emissions targets for model year 2022-25 light-duty vehicles.
In August, EPA proposed freezing the standards at the 2020 target of 43.7 mpg and revoking California's waiver to set tougher-than-federal fuel economy standards, which more than a dozen other states follow. The state has promised to sue to stop the rule, which could tie up the regulation for years and cause massive uncertainty for automakers as they design fleets years in advance.
In June, 17 top automakers urged the White House to put the brakes on the plan and go back to negotiations with California to avoid splitting the US auto market in two.
The EPA's Wheeler has said the time for negotiations has passed, and the agency would publish the final rule soon.
"It's not going to be exactly what we proposed last summer," Wheeler said at the G20 energy and environment meeting in Japan. "I believe we're taking everyone's concerns and considerations into account. I'm hopeful that if people keep an open mind and look at our final regulation that they will be satisfied where we landed."
The EPA's proposal argued that booming US oil production has added additional stable supply to the global oil market and "reduced the urgency of the US to conserve energy," one of the goals of the original fuel economy standards.
