Environmental groups challenge updates to California’s low-carbon transportation rules
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
A coalition of environmental groups filed a challenge Wednesday to California’s main climate regulator, arguing that recent updates to a major climate change program will cause more pollution in the state’s San Joaquin Valley.
The lawsuit, filed in Fresno County Superior Court, requires the California Air Resources Board to “adequately disclose, analyze, and mitigate the significant environmental impacts” caused by changes to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). I’m looking for it.
Partners in the case include Leadership Advisors for Justice and Accountability, Food and Water Watch, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Defensor del Valle Central Para El Aire y Agua .
“CARB must recognize the harm to the environment and public health caused by prioritizing polluting practices over sustainable solutions,” said environmental justice group Defensor del Valle Central. said Maria Arévalo, a spokeswoman for Para El Aire y Agua Limpio. “Our concerns were ignored.”
In November, the Aviation Commission announced that it would subsidize low-carbon fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by mandating increasingly cleaner fuels be used to power cars, trucks, trains and planes. It was resolved to strengthen the LCFS with the aim of reducing
First created in 2011, the program is a $2 billion credit system that provides financial incentives to companies to produce less polluting transportation fuels, such as biofuels made from agricultural crops and animal waste. It is.
Renewal of the program faced controversy over potential increases in gasoline prices and the negative environmental impacts of biofuels. Approximately 80% of the program’s billions of annual credits will go to the renewable natural gas, biodiesel, and renewable diesel industries.
Environmental critics say these fuels could perpetuate harmful waste practices in some of California’s most polluted regions, cause food shortages overseas and contribute to global deforestation. It is claimed that there is.
The group’s petition found that the Aviation Commission violated the California Environmental Quality Act by failing to evaluate and respond to comments regarding the environmental impact of fuel derived from farm and waste manure.
They claim the agency provides overly generous subsidies to farmers who install expensive industrial fertilizer management systems to capture methane for use as fuel. These systems disproportionately impact Latino communities in the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural regions.
The Environmental Protection Act “requires CARB to recognize the clear fact that providing significant economic benefits to the production of fertilizer-derived fuels on factory farms encourages the expansion of factory farms.” conservationists wrote in their complaint.
However, the authorities determined that “we have not been able to adequately assess and mitigate impacts such as increased local air pollution, impacts on groundwater, and climate change.”
CARB’s environmental review “cannot support a meaningful process or informed decision regarding the LCFS amendment,” the petitioners concluded.
A spokesperson for the Aviation Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
2024 Sacramento Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC
Source: Environmental groups object to update to California’s low-carbon transportation rules (December 19, 2024) from https://phys.org/news/2024-12-environmental-groups-california-carbon.html Retrieved December 19, 2024
This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.
