WASHINGTON — Stepping into a legal fight that has been raging for years, the Supreme Court said Friday that it will hear a case related to California's ability to set its own, often strict vehicle emissions standards that include curbs on greenhouse gases. It has become a fraught and politicized issue, especially since California began regulating greenhouse gases in an effort to combat climate change.
The Obama administration granted California a waiver to regulate greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions but the first Trump administration sought to change course. When Joe Biden was elected, his administration again gave California the leeway it wanted. The underlying California regulation was adopted in 2012. It sets standards to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and requires each manufacturer to sell a certain number of zero-emission vehicles.