From Climate Extra

Newsom’s Cap & Trade Budget Cuts Spark Lawmaker Queries, Unease

California lawmakers are questioning Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) revised fiscal year 2025-26 budget proposal seeking $1 billion for high-speed rail and $1.5 billion for firefighting from revenue generated by the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, in part because it appears to scuttle previous plans to spend the other $2 billion in the fund. “I’m concerned that you’re proposing to cut over $1 billion from transit agencies that are struggling, from money that was already committed to them. Right? They’ve made...

NHTSA Begins Two-Step Process To Roll Back Fuel Economy Standards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is poised to begin a two-step process to roll back its vehicle fuel economy standards, starting with a final “interpretive” rule declaring that Biden officials illegally factored electric vehicles (EVs) into the baseline of its standards, and followed by a subsequent proposal to ease the standards. The agency’s strategy is one of numerous efforts by the Trump administration and its allies to scale back federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy rules -- as...

Senate GOP Announces Imminent Votes To Scuttle California Auto Waivers

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is announcing that senators will vote “in the very near future” on Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to rescind multiple EPA preemption waivers for California vehicle emissions programs, in a move that appears to pave the way for Congress to undo the measures. Thune’s announcement in May 20 Senate floor remarks rebuffs prior Democratic claims that scrapping the waivers via the CRA would have “profound institutional consequences,” given determinations by the Government Accountability Office...

D.C. Circuit Panel Appears Split On Litigation Over EPA’s ‘Green Bank’ Funds

A panel of D.C. Circuit judges appears split on whether to let stand a lower court decision that would allow recipients of $20 billion in grants under EPA’s “green bank” program to regain access to their awards, with at least one Trump-appointed judge signaling she is likely to rule in EPA’s favor. During May 19 arguments, Judge Nina Pillard, an Obama appointee, generally embraced claims from the grant recipients, while Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, indicated alignment with EPA...

States Preview Air Pollution Impact Of Undoing California Vehicle Rules

Analysis recently provided to state and local air regulators is previewing the conventional air pollution increases that could result if Senate Republicans rescind preemption waivers for several major California vehicle emissions rules, even as political debate over the move has mostly focused on the rules’ effect on electric vehicle deployment. The analysis is included in an April 8 memo from the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) to its members, and recently obtained by Inside EPA ’s Climate Extra...

Newsom Proposes Cap & Trade Changes, GHG Funds To Fill Budget Deficit

As part of his revised fiscal year 2025-26 budget proposal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is floating changes to the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program while extending it to 2045, as well as a push to shift almost $2 billion in program revenue to plug budget deficits for firefighting and other areas. “To help address the projected budget shortfall, the Governor’s Cap-and-Invest proposal supports CAL FIRE’s operations by shifting $1.5 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the...

Zeldin Aggressively Rejects Democrats’ Legal Attacks On Funding Freezes

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is aggressively denying that the agency has engaged in wrongdoing regarding its efforts to pause and terminate various grant funds, even as Senate Democrats are slamming the Trump EPA for “illegally and unconstitutionally” impounding $24 billion in awards. During a May 14 meeting of the Senate Appropriations environment panel to discuss EPA’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, ranking member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) argued EPA’s actions amount to illegally impounding congressionally obligated funds, including for the Inflation...

Climate Policy Skeptics Ramp Up Pitch To Scuttle Endangerment Finding

Conservative climate change policy skeptics are ramping up scientific and economic arguments for EPA to quickly and fully reverse its greenhouse gas endangerment finding and climate rules, highlighting claims that the agency is likely to weigh when it launches a process to re-examine the landmark 2009 risk finding. The early claims come as industry observers have been suggesting that EPA’s expected push to scrap the finding faces significant legal risk and could amount to a distraction from its deregulatory push...

GOP Former Officials Say Repealing GHG Finding Not ‘Most Fruitful Effort’

Republican former EPA officials say Administrator Lee Zeldin’s plan to revoke the agency’s landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding faces major legal hurdles and thus might be a poor strategy to implement the Trump administration’s agenda of scaling back the agency’s climate rules. All of the other dozens of items on Zeldin’s deregulatory agenda “are no surprise, except the endangerment finding,” says one former EPA official during President Donald Trump’s first term. This source acknowledges it is the prerogative of...

House Republicans Ready Push To Scuttle EPA Rules, IRA Climate Grants

House Republicans are floating draft budget “reconciliation” legislation that seeks to scuttle EPA’s multi-pollutant vehicle emissions rule, claw back “unobligated” funding for dozens of environmental and climate programs at EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) and speed permitting for major natural gas projects. Released on the eve of a House Energy & Commerce Committee markup scheduled to begin May 13, the legislation represents the panel’s first step in moving a reconciliation package expected to cut the programs to help...

House GOP Floats Draft Bills To Scrap EPA Auto Rules, IRA Climate Funds

House Republicans are floating draft legislation as part of their budget “reconciliation” effort that would repeal the Biden EPA’s multi-pollutant standards for light-duty vehicles, while also rescinding a variety of unobligated climate- and clean energy-related funds enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The proposals, included in draft legislation the House Energy & Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up at a May 13 meeting, also come alongside a proposal to give developers expedited permitting under the Natural...

Senate Democrats Blast EPA Plans To Shutter GHG Reporting Program

Senate environment committee Democrats are urging EPA not to end the agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), arguing the 15-year-old data collection program was created pursuant to a congressional directive and that it bolsters U.S. competitiveness by enabling industry to prove it has lower emissions than overseas competitors. The Democrats “strongly urge you to halt your plans to shutter the GHGRP and related offices and to reinstate any functions already dissolved,” reads a May 7 letter to EPA Administrator Lee...

White House Eyes Ways To Blunt GHG Rulings As It Directs SCC Rollback

White House regulatory office acting chief Jeff Clark is directing EPA and other agencies to minimize or end their use of the social cost of carbon (SCC) metric to analyze federal actions’ climate effects, while also instructing officials to seek options to skirt any appeals court decisions calling for monetization of the carbon benefits of federal actions. The guidance, outlined in a May 5 memo from the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), implements part of President Donald Trump’s...

Withheld By Trump EPA, EDF Releases Inventory Showing Drop In GHGs

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is releasing the latest U.S. greenhouse gas emissions inventory after it obtained the report from EPA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), after the Trump administration previously blocked release of the data and in an unprecedented move declined to submit it to the United Nations. The environmental group is making available on its website documents including the full U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report , an executive summary and “extensive underlying information,” including drafts of...

States Launch Suit To Unfreeze Federal Funds For EV Charging Stations

Washington, California and 15 other states are suing the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to unfreeze payments under its $5 billion grant program for states to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, arguing the Trump administration’s move violates the Constitution and procedural statutes. “The bottom line is that the Trump administration must follow laws passed by Congress. The administration lacks the authority to ignore congressional funding mandates,” California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta (D) said during a May 7 press conference...

Analysts Stress Affordability In Options For California GHG Cap & Trade Plan

Adding to an extensive menu of proposals, California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is giving lawmakers options for tightening and extending the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program beyond 2030, though it is emphasizing efforts to maintain affordability to lessen economic harms on industries and the public. The Legislature “may want to focus on improving affordability, particularly given that the extension of the program could put upward pressure on allowance prices and result in higher associated costs to emitters and consumers,” the...

Senate GOP Downplays Democrats’ Warning On California Waiver CRA Push

Senate Republicans appear to be downplaying strong Democratic procedural objections to overturning EPA’s preemption waivers for California’s vehicle emissions programs via the Congressional Review Act (CRA), though Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is hedging on precisely how the chamber will proceed on the issue. Thune’s positioning comes after Democrats warned in a May 1 letter that use of the CRA to scuttle the waivers could backfire on Republicans, essentially upending the Senate filibuster and opening the floodgates to targeting a...

Democrats Warn Of Senate ‘Break’ If GOP Kills California Waivers Via CRA

Senate Democrats are urging Republicans not to overrule the parliamentarian in a bid to kill EPA’s preemption waivers for California vehicle emissions rules under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), warning doing so “would be a procedural nuclear option -- a dramatic break from Senate precedent with profound institutional consequences.” The message, in a May 1 letter signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the top Democrats on 18 committees, subordinates a discussion of the merits of California’s programs...

States File Court Challenge To Trump Administration’s Wind Permitting Halt

Over a dozen states are filing suit in federal district court challenging the Trump administration’s January directive that stopped all federal approvals for offshore and onshore wind energy projects, claiming the measure violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and numerous other federal statutes. The May 5 challenge , State of New York, et al. v. Donald Trump, et al. -- filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts -- presses the court to vacate adoption and...

Senate GOP Vows To Block California Vehicle Waivers, As Litigation Looms

Senate Republicans are reportedly vowing to scuttle EPA’s preemption waivers for California vehicle emissions programs using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), even though this would require overruling conclusions by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Senate parliamentarian that the waivers are not subject to CRA. Observers, however, say such an approach is likely to spark extended litigation on the question of whether rescinding the waivers is an illegal use of the CRA. “If they go forward in the Senate...

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