Biden administration is said to allow California to ban new gas-powered cars

The Biden administration is expected in the coming days to grant California and 11 other states permission to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars after 2035, one of the most ambitious climate policies in the United States and beyond, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss it publicly.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to revoke permission within days of his inauguration, part of his pledge to scrap Biden-era policies designed to fight climate change by accelerating the transition to electric vehicles.

"California has imposed the most ridiculous car regulations anywhere in the world, with mandates to move to all electric cars," Trump has said. "I will terminate that."

The state would most likely challenge any revocation, setting up a legal battle with the new administration.

"California has long led the nation in pioneering climate policies and innovation," said Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, earlier this year. "Those efforts will continue for years to come."

Under the 1970 Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has for decades allowed California, which has historically had the most polluted air in the nation, to enact tougher clean air standards than those set by the federal government. Federal law also allows other states under certain circumstances to adopt California's standards as their own.

The waiver can be used to rein in toxic, smog-causing pollutants like soot, nitrogen dioxide and ozone that lead to asthma and lung disease. But California officials have also been using the waiver to curb greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, a chief cause of global warming. Gas-powered cars and other forms of transportation are the biggest source of carbon dioxide generated by the United States.

On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether business groups have the legal standing to challenge the legality of California's use of the waiver program to control carbon dioxide emissions.

News of the expected waiver was first reported by The Washington Post.

As the fifth-biggest economy in the world, California exerts significant market influence. In recent years, other states have adopted California's limits on tailpipe pollution, and together they make up nearly half the U.S. auto market. That has helped compel automakers to invest heavily in developing and selling electric vehicles.

California has been a leader in electric vehicle adoption. The top five cities in the United States with the highest numbers of registered electric vehicles have all been in California.

In 2023, electric vehicles accounted for more than 30 per cent of automobile registrations in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to S&P Global Mobility, an auto market research firm. In Los Angeles, that share was close to 25 per cent. This year, California surpassed 2 million zero-emissions vehicles sold.

All of that has made California's rules a ripe political target for Trump, who has promised to "rip up" the state's waiver. During his first term, Trump revoked an Obama-era version of the California waiver.

Trump is also expected to try to end a $7,500 consumer tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles. Newsom has promised to offer state tax rebates for EV purchases if the Trump administration ends the federal program.