Four major car brands have reached a deal with California for a new set of emissions standards.

For the past several months, California and the federal government have been butting heads over vehicle emissions rules. The White House wants to freeze Obama-era regulations that tighten fuel economy numbers on an annual basis, leaving them at 2020 levels until the year 2026. California, a state known for both environmentalism and legendary smog, opposed the freeze and went ahead with creating their own emissions standards without the feds.

This resulted in an August 2018 threat to take away the right for California to make their own emissions laws. So far, they have yet to follow through.

But for carmakers, this dustup is a real hassle. Without clear guidelines to follow, they don’t know how to make new vehicles. This instability prompted 17 American and global carmakers to send a letter to the White House demanding a resolution.

However, the White House broke off negotiations with California and has yet to resume talks. This resulted in carmakers to enter into talks with California without the federal government to negotiate a set of rules themselves.

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On Thursday, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, and Honda announced a joint proposal that would serve as a roadmap to a national emissions plan. The proposal compromises on the Obama-era legislation by slowing the rise in emissions standards from 5% to 3.7% per year from 2022 to 2026. This works out to requiring that carmakers have a fleet-wide average fuel economy of roughly 50 mpg by 2026.

California Traffic Jam
via Wired

"A 50-state solution has always been our preferred path forward, and we understand that any deal involves compromise," wrote the four companies in a joint statement. "These terms will provide our companies much-needed regulatory certainty by allowing us to meet both federal and state requirements with a single national fleet, avoiding a patchwork of regulations while continuing to ensure meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions."

Other carmakers are invited to sign on to the proposal to adopt a national set of rules. So far, the White House has yet to comment on the proposal.

(via Reuters)

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