In a significant blow to California’s ambitious electric vehicle mandates, the Supreme Court today sided with oil companies, ruling 7-2 that they can proceed with their lawsuit challenging the state’s regulations. The decision overturns a lower court’s finding that the energy producers lacked the legal right to sue.
The high court’s majority opinion, penned by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, firmly rejected the notion that oil companies are mere “unaffected bystanders” in the face of stringent environmental regulations.
“The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court as unaffected bystanders,” Kavanaugh wrote.
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At the heart of the dispute are California’s 2012 regulations, which require automakers to limit average greenhouse gas emissions across their fleets and to manufacture a certain percentage of electric vehicles sold in the state.
These rules received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a decision that has seen its legal justification shift between different presidential administrations, as noted by Justice Kavanaugh.
Previously, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had dismissed the oil companies’ challenge, stating they lacked standing. However, today’s Supreme Court ruling firmly establishes their right to be heard in court.
Chet Thompson, President and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), hailed the decision as a critical victory. “The Supreme Court put to rest any question about whether fuel manufacturers have a right to challenge unlawful electric vehicle mandates,” Thompson stated.
He further asserted that “California’s EV mandates are unlawful and bad for our country,” arguing that Congress never granted California the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mandate EVs, or ban gas car sales.
This ruling opens the door for a continued legal battle over California’s efforts to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, potentially impacting similar environmental regulations nationwide.
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