State and local flagship climate policies to remain on the books, but vehicle emission standards are in limbo amid pending litigation
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced a recession of the Endangerment Finding, a 2009 rule made by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that the EPA will no longer regulate manmade sources of greenhouse gas pollution, such as emissions from burning fossil fuels.
For the average person, this means public health protections could weaken. The finding has supported rules meant to cut pollution linked to harms such as asthma and heat stress. Without federal authority to regulate greenhouse gases, the U.S. would have a much harder time cutting the emissions driving climate change. While some municipalities in Washington are insulated with local planning and the state Climate Commitment Act, the state remains in uncertainty about full impacts with multiple pending lawsuits around the decision.
The recession of the Endangerment Finding will impact Washington’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, Mike Faulk, deputy communications director in the Attorney General’s Office, wrote in an email. Washington joined 38 other jurisdictions in a lawsuit to restore federal authority to regulate greenhouse gasses. That litigation is pending. In the meantime, enforcement of those rules is paused, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology.
Washington is also in lawsuits against a congressional action made earlier this year to block states from using California’s stricter emissions standards for vehicles, according to Caitlin Krenn, climate and clean energy director at Washington Conservation Action. That litigation is also pending.
“There are so many possible outcomes,” Krenn said of the lawsuits. “Federal action on vehicle pollution is in limbo as these legal challenges play out.”
The two types of vehicle emissions standards that Washington was following were low emissions standards and zero-emission vehicle standards, according to Caroline Halter, a Department of Ecology spokesperson in an email.
The low emissions standard required vehicle manufacturers to reduce harmful emissions in their fossil fuel powered products. Used for pollutants other than greenhouse gasses, these helped make cars 99% cleaner than they were in 1970, Halter wrote.
Around 40% of Washington’s climate emissions come from the transportation sector, according to Krenn.
The other type of vehicle emissions standard Washington was following from California is the zero-emission vehicle standard. These rules require automakers to increase options and proportions of new vehicle sales for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on the market over time, according to Halter in an email.
Like the low emission standard, Washington follows California’s zero emission vehicle standard, which requires up to 100% of all new passenger car sales and 75% of new heavier commercial vehicle sales in the state to be zero emission by 2035, she wrote.
The state is still working on making new rules for transitioning to cleaner vehicles over time while the issue of the vehicle emissions standards is working its way through the courts, according to Ecology.
One in five vehicle buyers in Washington opt for zero-emission vehicles such as electric vehicles, which is double the national average, Halter wrote.
In April, Washington rolled out its own incentive program for electric vehicles, funded by revenue from the Climate Commitment Act.
Passed in 2021, the Climate Commitment Act aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050 through a cap and invest program, where major emitters must buy permits and the funds go towards sustainability initiatives.
“Congress’ actions do not change Washington’s commitment to transitioning to cleaner vehicles,” Halter wrote. “Washington has legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2050 which cannot be met without addressing transportation.”
California’s zero-emission vehicle standard was part of Washington’s strategy to electrify transportation, which was expected to cut emissions by 9.4 million metric tons of the common greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by 2030, according to the EV Council’s Washington State Transportation Electrification Strategy.
“The California vehicle emissions standards are a direct relationship that are foundational to our climate policy framework,” Krenn said. “Even policies like our Climate Commitment Act and Clean Fuel Standard were passed with the understanding that we’d have these vehicle emissions standards providing that foundation.”
The Clean Fuel Standard reduces emissions from the transportation sector over time by requiring lower emissions from fuels, according to Krenn.
The Clean Fuel Standard and the Climate Commitment Act will both remain in place despite the rollback of the Endangerment Finding, according to Krenn. As will the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which aims to make all electrical generation for the state carbon neutral by 2045.
“Washington has been very strong on staying the course on our statewide climate policies,” Krenn said.
Implementation of countywide goals in the Whatcom County Climate Action Plan could be affected by recession of the EPA’s endangerment finding, according to Lauren Clemens, Climate Action Manager at Whatcom County Public Works.
‘’Within the climate action plan, it is assumed that the federal standards for fuel economy will remain in place,’’ she said. ‘’(Without these standards), we can assume that greenhouse emissions generated by light duty vehicles and trucks will decrease slower than they would have otherwise.’’
The City of Bellingham does not currently need to change its climate policies as a result of these recent actions by the Trump administration, according to David Brauhn, assistant communications director.
The city is working on a range of projects to help reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, such as sustainability updates to city buildings, clean energy incentives and multimodal transportation improvements, according to the city’s Climate Action Protection Plan.
“Despite the reversal of the Endangerment Finding, the City’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the Bellingham community and City operations remain unchanged,” Brauhn wrote in an email. “Washington state, like 22 other states, has set greenhouse gas emission limits through state legislation. The city is a partner in helping the state to reach its overall emission reduction targets.”
—By Jacob O’Donnell