California’s EV Mandate Goes to Congress for Repeal

The GOP can rescue the country from onerous rules that are impossible for auto makers to meet

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"The Biden Administration in December approved a waiver letting California set its own vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions standards. The Clean Air Act lets the Environmental Protection Agency grant such a waiver only to meet “compelling and extraordinary conditions.” This waiver authority was intended to help California reduce pollutants that contribute to smog.

But CO2 doesn’t cause smog, and California doesn’t have any more compelling need to regulate vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions than any other state. Nonetheless, the Biden EPA approved the state’s ban on new internal-combustion engine cars by 2035 and progressive “zero-emission vehicle” quotas for auto makers. 

Zero-emission vehicles would have to account for 43% of an auto maker’s sales in 2027 in California and a dozen or so other states that have adopted its rules. This increases to 68% by 2030."

"EVs made up only 13% of traditional auto-maker sales in California in 2023 and even less in such states as Massachusetts (8%), New Jersey (7%) and New York (6%) that have adopted the Golden State’s rules."