California air regulators approve controversial standards that could affect gas prices

California regulators have approved plans to strengthen the state's carbon reduction standards — a move that opponents fear could drive up gasoline prices.

The decision, which occurred following a 12-hour meeting on Friday, involves amendments to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and serves to decrease petroleum dependency and achieve air quality gains.

Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), praised the amendments in a Friday statement for prioritizing both environmental and health concerns and "ensuring that low-carbon options are available as the state continues to work toward a zero-emissions future.”

The approval, she continued, increases fuel choices "beyond petroleum, provides a roadmap for cleaner air, and leverages private sector investment and federal incentives to spur innovation to address climate change and pollution.”

Leading up to Friday's vote, opponents of the new amendments voiced fears that tightening the rules would cause a sharp rise in gasoline prices.

California's Republican representatives in Congress sent a letter to CARB in the weeks before, urging the agency to delay the decision.

They argued that the changes “would create a hidden 47 cent per gallon fee on California drivers every time they go to the pump in 2025.”

The writers were citing assessments from CARB’s September 2023 regulatory impact report, although the agency had backtracked on those estimates.

A statement issued by CARB after the vote stressed that third party commodities experts have shown that the current standard's pass-through to customers is about $0.10 per gallon of gasoline.

First implemented in 2011, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard requires fuel producers to stay below certain carbon intensity thresholds — either by using lower-carbon resources themselves or by acquiring credits from industries that do so.

The amendments passed late on Friday focus on “increasing the stringency of the program to more aggressively decarbonize fuels.”

That aggressive decarbonization will involve incentivizing more production of clean fuels, such as low-carbon hydrogen, as well as decreasing methane emissions and integrating biologically sourced methane into the transportation sector.

The changes will also tighten restrictions on crop-based fuels, with the goal of preventing deforestation and other potentially negative impacts.

Alongside red-leaning politicians and oil industry stakeholders, climate groups have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the amendments — although for different reasons.

Adrian Martinez, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice, described the new standard in a statement as "a failed policy," adding that "the communities most impacted by air pollution in California will be the ones breathing the price for it."

"Most of the program’s billions will go to combustion fuels, so there is no question that this approach is dragging California backwards," Martinez said.