An agreement announced in July between California and major auto manufacturers is good news for Washington state and for the planet.
In undermining federal attempts to weaken fuel mileage standards for new passenger vehicles, the deal is a significant one. Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW agreed to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleets to an average of 51 miles per gallon by 2026, providing automakers with some regulatory certainty and offering one way to help reduce carbon emissions.
Under the Obama administration, the federal government had sought an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The federal Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump quickly quashed that goal, setting average fuel standards at 2020 levels — 37 miles per gallon.
While automakers and the oil industry had lobbied for less-stringent efficiency, the manufacturers also recognized the possibility of the next administration again moving the goalposts. With fleets requiring up to a decade to plan and build, the uncertainty placed automakers in a tenuous position; they opted to negotiate with California officials rather than an unreliable and unpredictable Trump administration.
The new standards are not as stringent as those pursued by the Obama administration, but they are more environmentally responsible than the current EPA’s limp guidelines. Transportation is the largest source of carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change — and passenger vehicles comprise 20 percent of all U.S. emissions.
Equally important is California’s involvement in the agreement. Since 1968, the most populous state in the union has had an exemption under the Clean Air Act to set its own rules for vehicle emissions. When Congress updated the Clean Air Act, it carved that exemption for California, which under Gov. Ronald Reagan was pursuing more stringent emissions standards.
The Trump administration threatened to put the brakes on that exemption if California officials did not adopt the weaker federal rules, essentially forcing carmakers to choose a side; they chose California, which is the nation’s largest auto market.
That decision will resonate in Washington and elsewhere. Currently, 12 states and the District of Columbia — accounting for more than one-third of the U.S. population — have adopted California’s emissions standards.
In addition to some regulatory certainty, the automakers received some concessions. They are allowed to meet the targets by increasing sales of electric cars and hybrids; and the benchmarks are determined by the company’s entire U.S. fleet rather than just in California, providing some flexibility. Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW account for about 30 percent of the U.S. passenger vehicle market, and officials say they hope other companies will adopt similar standards.
Hopefully, that will be the case. Better fuel efficiency is important for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change. Notably, the agreement is a signal that carmakers have the ability to increase efficiency and make cars that remain competitive in the marketplace — a fact they have denied for years in bristling at increased fuel standards.
The agreement highlights the role of the states as the Trump administration wages war against environmental protections. But it does not remove the need for a national standard that will improve air quality and reduce emissions throughout the country. That is a battle that still needs to be won.
