WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and major motorists confirmed Monday that they have reached binding agreements to reduce car emissions in the state, and are stepping up pressure from the Trump administration for weaker curbs on tailpipe contamination.
FILE PHOTO: Traffic Moves Slowly on Highway 405 in Los Angeles, California July 14, 2011. REUTERS / Eric Thayer / File Photo / File Photo
The agreements with car manufacturers, including Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Honda Motor Co and BMW AG, were first announced in July 2019 as voluntary measures, which angered US President Donald Trump.
A month later, the Justice Department opened an anti-trust probe of the agreements, only to end it without action.
The administration concluded in March a rollback of U.S. emissions standards to require a 1.5% annual increase in efficiency by 2026, well below the 5% annual increase in rejected rules under President Barack Obama.
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates the deal will improve the economy by 3.7% year over year between 2022-2026.
Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely Holdings, also finalized its agreement on Monday.
CARB said the deal would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 2026 and “encourage innovation to accelerate the transition to electric cars, give the industry the certainty needed to make investments and create jobs, and give consumers money” save. ”
The White House had no comment.
The 13 states that follow California’s standards, which represent about 40% of the U.S. auto market, have said they support the agreements.
In May, a group of 23 U.S. states led by California and some major cities challenged the rule for emission of Trump cars.
Other major motorists such as General Motors Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Toyota Motor Corp have not participated in the California agreement.
Those companies also sat down with the administration in a separate lawsuit over whether the federal government can support the California law to set requirements for emission vehicles.
Ford said the deal “will support” and stimulate the production of electrified products, and create regulatory certainty. Honda said the agreement would allow it to “sell one nationwide fleet … which achieves significant annual emissions improvements.”
Report by David Shepardson; Edited by Tom Brown and Dan Grebler
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