The EPA is preparing to set new standards that broaden biofuels incentives and could provide cleaner electricity for EV charging. But the proposal faces criticism from some environmental groups who claim it inadvertently supports the market for internal combustion engines instead. The agency on Thursday released proposed Renewable Fuel Standard... Will EPA’s plan for broadened biofuels delay EV adoption?
The EPA is preparing to set new standards that broaden biofuels incentives and could provide cleaner electricity for EV charging. But the proposal faces criticism from some environmental groups who claim it inadvertently supports the market for internal combustion engines instead. The agency on Thursday released proposed Renewable Fuel Standard...
A name familiar to clean-car advocates has reportedly made the short list to lead the Environmental Protection Agency for the incoming Biden administration. Mary Nichols, currently head of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), was one of the names recommended to the Biden campaign for the EPA administrator post during the last stages of the...
In a move ostensibly aimed at increasing regulatory transparency, the EPA has proposed new rules that would require extensive disclosure of the data gathered in the research behind public health regulation—including confidential health records. While improving transparency sounds reasonable at face value, this is actually a calculated move...
American consumer opinions regarding the ongoing battle between California and the EPA fall generally along party lines, a survey conducted earlier this week found. While the conflict between the Trump administration and the state of California is constantly deepening, the catalyst for the current situation was the EPA's announcement that it would...
The ongoing saga of President Trump vs. the Golden State took yet another bizarre turn late Monday when the administration threatened to withhold highway funding from California, claiming the state has failed to demonstrate what steps it is taking to improve air quality. Believe it or not, this isn't a joke. In a letter sent to the California Air...
The Trump administration may soon reveal a plan, involving the U.S. EPA and NHTSA, that would attempt to completely revoke the authority of California to set its own auto-emissions standards, as well as preempt other states from setting their own rules for vehicle emissions. According to a Reuters report from Thursday, citing two people who were...
There was a time when freezing federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards was something that automakers, a wide range of companies, and a very significant portion of the American public might have backed. But that isn’t the case today. A new nationally representative survey from Consumer Reports, conducted in June but released last...
California launched another lawsuit against the Trump administration over fuel economy regulations on Friday, this time over a federal decision to suspend planned increases in penalties for automakers who miss required targets. In announcing the lawsuit, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra accused the Trump administration of trying to make...
Some of the largest automakers in the U.S. have banded together with California—to set an example for the EPA and its long-stalled emissions and fuel economy revamp. The agreement between Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and BMW's U.S. division would raise fuel-economy standards by about 3.7 percent a year through 2026 to a final target of about 50...
The EPA's plans to freeze fuel economy and emissions standards have been put on hold until at least Labor Day, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg earlier this week. Last August, the EPA released its long-anticipated proposal to unwind the steadily rising fuel-economy standards put in place in 2012 under President Obama, in part to...
The EPA hasn't yet released its final ruling on a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards. However, a different federal agency—NHTSA—has finalized a rule to freeze fines on automakers who exceed the standards. The fines have been set at $5.50 per 0.1 mpg, per car the automakers produce that doesn't meet the standards, since 1997...
The number of states that oppose President Trump's efforts to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards is growing. In June last year, 16 states and Washington, DC, sued the federal government over the proposal before it was even released. On Tuesday, governors of 23 states plus Puerto Rico released a joint statement urging the Trump...
EPA Office of Air and Radiation Administrator Bill Wehrum, an attorney who formerly represented power companies in their effort to roll back clean-air regulations, has resigned. The biggest air-quality issues that the Office of Air and Radiation oversees are tailpipe emissions from cars, and emissions from power plants that increasingly provide...
Americans driving more miles could cancel out emissions progress. Airbus looks to build hybrid airplanes. China puts restrictions on who can build electric cars in the world's largest EV market. And Jaguar plans to launch its new flagship XJ sedan as an electric. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Jaguar Land Rover plans to introduce its...
This story has been updated to include a response from California Governor Gavin Newsom, and further background regarding California's potential reaction. Ten months after the U.S. EPA and DOT proposed easing federal fleet fuel economy standards for 2021-2026, there has been no formal submission of the plan. And more than a year after the EPA...
Today, the EPA acted on a proposed change to expand the amount of ethanol that can be mixed into pump gasoline from June 1 to September 1. In an official announcement, the agency made no comment about how the move might affect summer air quality or pollution issues. The EPA said that it “delivers on President Trump’s promise,”...