Industry's Challenge to Electric Vehicle Mandate Moves to U.S. Supreme Court

The California Advanced Clean Cars I rule is a precursor to pending California rules that over time would advance the required percentage of zero-emission new vehicles sold in the state to 100%, reported NACS.

"We are pleased that the Supreme Court will hear this case," said Doug Kantor, general counsel for NACS. "The question of who decides vehicle standards for the nation is too important for courts to hide behind unsupported legal technicalities of 'standing.' We need a federal standard that makes the entire nation's interests in lower emissions and a strong economy its priority rather than arbitrarily picking one technology over others, regardless of results."

California can set its own rules based on a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NACS and its coalition partners in the traditional and renewable fuels industries, as well as several other states, challenged the waiver on the basis that California requested it based on concerns about global climate change, not California-specific air quality, and that the law requires global issues to be addressed by national standards. NACS' position is that picking one technology over others leads to worse outcomes for both the environment and the economy.

The D.C. Court of Appeals previously ruled against NACS based on its view that because automakers would take the same course of action regardless of whether the rules were in place, NACS and its coalition partners have no legal complaint, as invalidating the rule would not help them.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether that was the correct reading of the law and whether the case can proceed to the ultimate question of the legality of the EPA's waiver for California.