The Legal and Practical Challenges of California's Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation
California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta and the California Air Resources Board (the Board) have reached a $46 million agreement with engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. to settle alleged violations of California’s engine...more
Motor carriers and equipment manufacturers are closely watching federal and California Air Resources Board (CARB) developments in the future of vehicle emissions. The headline has long been that a transition from internal...more
Federal environmental regulators are taking action that eventually could transform the way motor vehicle tires are manufactured to reduce toxic runoff from 6PPD, a substance used in tire production that kills or harms some...more
What are the top legal and practical concerns stemming from a key California climate-change initative, its Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule that went into effect in October 2023? This initiative by the California Air...more
On October 7, 2023, Governor Newsom signed into law California Senate Bill 253 (SB 253), the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. With the passage of SB 253, California takes the lead in implementing greenhouse gas...more
Two new bills have been passed in California as part of a “Climate Accountability Package” that require US-based companies “doing business”1 in California to make disclosures about their emissions and climate-related...more
This week, the California legislature approved Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253), and Senate Bill 261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk (SB 261), which are headed to...more
As stated in Holland & Knight's recent alert detailing Gov. Gavin Newsom's package of 11 bills to amend the venerable California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), meaningful reforms to CEQA have eluded all past governors in...more
On April 28, California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) approved new regulations which would phase out the sales of medium and heavy-duty combustion trucks in California by 2036. The goal is to fully transition existing fleets...more
California has been pushing hard recently to lose its status as the second-largest contributor of the nation’s greenhouse gases (still comfortably behind Texas.) ...more
What is the significance of EPA’s March 30, 2023 Notice of Decision (pre-publication) granting two separate requests for waivers of Clean Air Act (“CAA”) preemption for California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) regulations...more
The California coast is home to some of the best offshore wind resources in the country. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that California's coast has a resource potential of 201,000 megawatts (MW) of...more
The California Air Resources Board approved its final 2022 Scoping Plan update on December 15, 2022. The plan is the most ambitious in the country in terms of proposed greenhouse gas reduction efforts, chiefly aiming to reach...more
Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) permitting reform hit the end of the road, failing with a vote of 47-47—however, Senate Democrats and Republicans signaled interest in addressing permitting approval in the new Congress....more
As we reported previously, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has taken a highly anticipated vote on its final proposed plan for addressing climate change. ...more
California is demonstrating that its promises on climate change are not just hot air; they’re a policy priority for the State that will require groundbreaking action. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is rolling out...more
[co-author: Kerry Mackenzie and Leila Fleming] The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) released a proposed rule that would establish greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements that would impact...more
EPA proposes designating certain PFAS 'forever chemicals' as hazardous substances - CNN – August 26 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it proposes to designate certain per-and...more
[co-author: Leila Fleming] Good evening! This is Akin Gump’s weekly policy newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from this past week and...more
Legislation to “prevent corporate greenwashing” by requiring major companies doing business in California to publicly disclose their scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has cleared two critical committees....more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the “Department”) made way for the return of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) as a tool to settle violations of federal environmental laws while delivering environmental...more
[co-author: Leila Fleming] Supreme Court Restricts the EPA’s Authority to Mandate Carbon Emissions Reductions (NPR) - On Thursday, the Supreme Court invoked the “Major Questions Doctrine” in West Virginia v. EPA to...more
Supreme Court restricts EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions - Associated Press - June 30 - In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited the extent of the U.S....more
The Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) at Berkeley Law last month, in conjunction with the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law, issued Driving Equity, a new reportaimed at...more
The California Air Resources Board’s proposal to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions calls for “squeezing the carbon out of every sector” of California’s economy....more