Overview
- The rescission removes the EPA’s Clean Air Act basis to regulate greenhouse gases and immediately ends federal tailpipe standards and related compliance programs.
- The White House says the action will save about $1.3 trillion and cut roughly $2,400 from the price of popular new vehicles, claims scientists and former EPA officials dispute as contrary to established health evidence.
- California and environmental groups including the Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice and NRDC have announced legal challenges, with cases expected to start in the D.C. Circuit and potentially reach the Supreme Court.
- Critics point to a Jan. 30 ruling by U.S. District Judge William G. Young that an outside panel used to justify the reversal violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a finding likely to feature in the lawsuits.
- Automakers face the prospect of fragmented state standards and uncertainty for EV investments, while broader EPA limits on power plants and oil and gas methane are now in question under the administration’s legal stance.