State Climate Rule Blocked by US Judge Following Biden Administration Rejection

A recent ruling by a U.S. judge in Texas has invalidated a climate regulation put in place by the Biden administration. The rule required states to set and monitor declining targets for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles on the national highway system.

Texas filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in December, arguing that the agency did not have the legal authority to implement such a rule. An additional lawsuit was also filed by 21 other states.

In a decision made by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, appointed by former President Donald Trump, it was determined that Texas was correct in asserting that “the rule was unauthorized.”

The DOT has not yet responded to requests for comment following the ruling.

The final rule issued in December by the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) required states to measure and disclose greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, set decreasing carbon dioxide targets, and report on progress towards meeting those targets.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced in December that the “new performance measure would provide states with a clear and consistent framework to monitor carbon pollution and the flexibility to establish their own climate targets.”

The FHWA clarified that while it did not mandate specific reduction targets, it allowed state transportation departments to set appropriate targets as long as they aimed to decrease emissions over time.

The agency explained that it would evaluate states’ progress in meeting their targets and confirmed that there were no penalties for failing to achieve them.

While the rule was considered “essential” to the Biden administration’s goal of achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, states were not required to align their targets with this long-term goal.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton strongly criticized the regulation, vowing to combat what he deemed “unlawful climate mandates.”

Another group of 21 states filed a lawsuit in Kentucky in December challenging the same regulation, with that case still pending.

Notably, in 2018, the Trump administration repealed a rule established by former President Barack Obama that required states to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles on the nation’s highways.