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June 25th, 2025                                                                                       (916) 553-4093

In Case You Missed It:
CalMatters: California’s War on Carbon Emissions Faces Setbacks in Court and Congress

California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley and his recent Substack article were quoted in Dan Walters’ column regarding California’s battle against carbon emissions. Walters highlights the ongoing complexity of legislation switching between federal and state authorities. This confusion is made worse for California because it cannot meet its own set goals. Lapsley is quoted saying California needs to boost its ZEV sales by 50% from current levels to reach its 2027 target, which currently seems unrealistic. While federal mandates and the Air Resources Board’s rules remain unclear, consumers will continue to bear the cost at the pump. 
 
Walters writes:

“This year’s goal was to be 35%, but sales have been running about 10 percentage points behind, compelling the Air Resources Board to push the 2026 goal of 43% off until 2027.”

“The state is challenging the new legislation in court, leaving the issue up in the air. However, even if the state’s waiver from federal standards is reinstated, the underlying issue of persuading Californians to buy electric vehicles would remain.”

“‘To meet the revised 2027 target, California would need to increase ZEV sales by about 50% from current levels — rising from approximately 23% today to 43% in less than 24 months,’ Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, notes in a recent analysis of the situation.”

“In 2023, the board estimated that adoption could immediately increase gas prices by 47 cents a gallon, and then ‘on average, from 2031 through 2046 the proposed amendments are projected to potentially increase the price of gasoline by $1.15 per gallon, the price of diesel by $1.50 per gallon and fossil jet fuel by $1.21 per gallon.”’

“‘The whole point of the regulations is to increase the number of electric vehicles in the new automobile market beyond what consumers would otherwise demand,’ Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion.”

To read Walters' full column: https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/06/california-zero-emissions-vehicles-war/ 

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