Editor's note: An earlier version of this story listed an incorrect surname for CARB engineer Pippin Mader.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- California approved light-vehicle pollution targets that the Trump administration has put on hold, setting up a potential face-off between federal and state regulators that could be expensive for automakers and a headache for consumers.
California Air Resources Board members criticized the auto industry for asking federal regulators to reconsider light-vehicle emissions targets for 2022-25 established by the Obama White House in 2012.
The board on Friday then finalized vehicle pollution rules for the state, set a mandate for zero-emission sales over the same time period, and ordered its staff to start work on emissions targets for after 2025.
California regulators have a long history of independent efforts to reduce tailpipe pollution from cars and light trucks, and Friday's move signals the state is prepared to fight the Trump administration.
“We’re going to press on,” Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board, said during a meeting of the agency here.
The state’s rules on greenhouse gas emissions for light vehicles were written in cooperation with the Obama administration and created a single national standard for new vehicles through 2025.
Targets for the share of California light-vehicle sales that need to be powered by battery, fuel cell or plug-in hybrid powertrains are set for 15 percent by 2025, from about 3 percent today.
CARB’s vote to continue down the path of stricter emissions rules could lead to a showdown with Trump, who described environmental regulations in the U.S. as “out of control” when meeting the CEOs of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in January.
Nichols chastised the industry for seeking the review of federal standards that Trump agreed to reopen earlier this month.
“What were you thinking when you threw yourselves on the mercy of the Trump administration to solve your problems?” Nichols said during the hearing Friday. “What did you mean when you said you don’t want to question the overall thrust of the standards? Why do another review if the current program is basically OK?”
Pruitt’s review
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to review the state’s legal authority to enforce its own limits on pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
Myron Ebell, the former head of Trump’s EPA transition team, told Bloomberg News last week that Trump’s Transportation Department may determine only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can regulate fuel economy and exclude the EPA and California from such rule-making.
“We tried very hard not to provoke or defy the national government and we’ve had a good past with the EPA,” Nichols told reporters following the hearing. “I don’t expect there to be a war on California. I was obviously disappointed when I heard Pruitt commenting that he might reconsider the California waiver.”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said ahead of the CARB meeting that EV's share of overall demand for new light vehicles has been roughly flat for years. The trade group representing automakers including GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler asked the regulator to wait at least two years before considering the higher zero-emission vehicle targets for 2030.
The alliance hasn’t asked Trump to revoke the state’s right to set its own emissions standards, Steven Douglas, the group’s senior director of environmental affairs, said during the CARB hearing.