Judge Rules Part of AB 32 Unconstitutional
A district court judge in California dealt a major setback to AB 32, California’s landmark global warming law. With the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, AB 32 set a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that required the carbon content in gasoline to be reduced by 10% and required that 20% of total gasoline used in the state come from renewable fuels.
The law was one of the first in the country to use a “carbon intensity” analysis to determine the total amount of green house gases emitted during the production and transportation of fuel. By capping the amount of carbon permissible in the fuel, the law would provide marketable credits to producers and distributors who emitted less carbon. Those who could not comply with the standard would face increased fuel costs as they would be forced to buy additional credits.
However, the law, which went into effect this year, may have stalled before even leaving the gates. According to the judge, the new standard unconstitutionally discriminated against out-of-state producers and attempted to regulate activity that occurred outside of state borders. As a result, the law violated the Dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
The lawsuit was brought by various farm groups, ethanol producers, refiners and truckers. The California Air Resources Board has said it would appeal.
