The US Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of fossil fuel companies and Republican-led states, allowing them to challenge California’s authority to set stricter standards for reducing car emissions. This decision threatens a key tool California has used to combat planet-heating emissions for decades. The court’s conservative majority supported the challenge to a waiver that California has had since 1967, enabling the state to impose tougher pollution limits on cars than national regulations.

California’s unique waiver has allowed the state to lead in promoting cleaner cars, with a goal for only zero-emission vehicles to be sold there by 2035. Despite opposition from oil and gas companies and Republican politicians who argue that the waiver causes financial harm, the Biden administration reinstated it after Trump’s attempt to revoke it.

The Supreme Court’s ruling overturned a lower court decision, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasizing that businesses should not be unfairly targeted by regulations that prevent legal challenges. The dispute over the waiver’s validity highlights the ongoing tension between environmental protection measures and industry interests.

While opponents criticize California’s waiver as an overreach, environmentalists and California’s Democratic leaders defend it as a crucial tool for promoting vehicle innovation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The outcome of this legal battle will have significant implications for efforts to address transportation-related pollution, a major contributor to climate change in the United States.