Competitive Enterprise Institute v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Petitioners that included 23 states, five cities, and 12 environmental and consumer organizations filed petitions for review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s promulgation of the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, which relaxed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light-duty vehicles. The states and cities and most of the organizations also sought review of EPA’s 2018 Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles, which the D.C. Circuit previously <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/california-v-epa-4/">held</a> was not final agency action. Other petitioners challenging the relaxation of the standards included air quality management districts in California, the National Coalition for Advanced Transportation (a coalition of companies that supports policies to promote electric vehicles and technologies), Advanced Energy Economy (a trade association supporting technologies including energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy, and other technologies), and a number of utilities.

In June 2022, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued orders continued to hold in abeyance cases filed in 2019 and 2020 that challenge the Trump administration’s greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for model year 2021-2026 light-duty vehicles, the 2019 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule preempting state limits on tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and zero-emission vehicles mandates, and EPA’s withdrawal of California’s waiver for such regulations. The D.C. Circuit will hold these cases in abeyance while it considers lawsuits challenging the Biden administration’s revised greenhouse gas emissions standards for 2023 and later model year light-duty vehicles, fuel economy standards for model years 2024-2026, and reinstatement of California’s waiver.