California accelerates work on EV rules, tax credits that Trump opposes, state’s top air regulator says

By Lisa Baertlein, Valerie Volcovici and David Shepardson

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – California officials are meeting Detroit automakers this week to discuss the next phase of greenhouse gas regulations for cars and trucks, the state’s top air regulator said. 

California is fighting in the courts and in the U.S. Congress against President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle landmark federal vehicle emissions standards. Governor Gavin Newsom plans an announcement next week that will lay out details of a new $200 million electric vehicle incentive program that aims to help fill the gap left after Trump’s budget bill killed federal tax credits for new electric cars last year,  Lauren Sanchez, chair of the California Air Resources Board, told Reuters in an interview.

“We are accelerating all of our work on zero-emissions vehicles, and we know that we have to navigate a managed transition that protects the environment, protects communities, protects workers in collaboration with the industry,” Sanchez said.

Ford Motor and Stellantis did not immediately comment.

GM confirmed it was meeting with CARB in Detroit on Thursday and said it “has long history of dialogue and collaboration with CARB” and added “California has the 4th largest economy in the world and is an important market for growth and innovation.”

For decades, California has had some of the nation’s dirtiest air. Other U.S. states have followed its lead in setting rules aimed at reducing harm from pollution.

The federal Clean Air Act of 1970 gave California the unique authority to request waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set emissions standards that are stricter than the federal government’s.

Congress rescinded California waivers aimed at bolstering zero-emissions vehicles after the Detroit Three lobbied Congress and the White House for significant relief from California emissions regulations. The White House also significantly weakened federal tailpipe rules and Congress passed legislation to stop collecting penalties for not meeting vehicle tailpipe standards.

GM said this week the rollback of federal emissions rules could save it up to $750 million.

Newsom, a vocal Trump foe who is seen as a leading Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, in September harshly criticized GM saying GM CEO Mary Barra “sold us out” in a bid to eliminate the progress made by CARB.

Trump’s attack on electric vehicles and broader assault on policies aimed at accelerating a transition to clean energy has ceded the market to China, Sanchez said. 

“We are doing everything we can to support the innovation that is needed for automakers to compete on the global scale again,” she said, pointing to Governor Newsom’s EV incentive program. “We look forward to partnering with automakers to ensure that those investments encourage the innovation and global competition we know is needed.”

CALIFORNIA CLIMATE GOALS

Last year, Trump used the Congressional Review Act to rescind California’s Advanced Clean Cars II waiver to phase out gasoline-powered cars by 2035. That move, combined with the end of federal tax credits for EVs, put a chill on electric passenger car sales and production.

It also revoked the state’s Advanced Clean Trucks waiver that mandated the phase-in of zero-emission heavy-duty truck manufacturing as well as its Heavy-Duty Engine Omnibus Low NOx waiver that would have drastically cut nitrogen oxide emissions from new diesel trucks over time.

The administration is also seeking to end the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by rescinding the “endangerment finding” that defines those emissions as a human health threat. The repeal of the endangerment finding is expected in the coming weeks.

Sanchez said California anticipates challenging a repeal in court. 

Prior to Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, CARB officials withdrew a waiver request that would have set the strictest locomotive pollution rule in the country and required railroad operators to phase out old diesel locomotives. 

They also withdrew a waiver request that would have set a timeline for truck drivers to replace diesel trucks with zero-emissions rigs. 

Sanchez characterized those as strategic withdrawals that left state regulators open to pursue other strategies.

“We’re prepared to fight and we’re prepared to also explore alternatives at the same time,” Sanchez said.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by David Gregorio)