Major Automakers Finalize “Framework Agreements on Clean Cars” with California
“Five major automobile manufacturers – BMW of North America, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo – and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently entered into voluntary framework agreements to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually through model year 2026. This follows the agreement-in-principle that CARB and the automakers reached in July 2019 in anticipation of the Trump Administration’s plans to promulgate less-restrictive light-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards, reports Joshua H. Van Eaton, Daniel B. Schulson and Anthony G. Papetti in Beveridge & Diamond’s News Alert.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized in September 2019 the first part of the Safer, Affordable, Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule. Specifically, Part I of the SAFE Rule withdrew California’s 2013 Clean Air Act Section 209(b) waiver, which permitted California to establish GHG emissions standards and Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates. This rule is currently being challenged by 24 states and environmental groups.”
