Make A U-Turn And Then Full Speed Ahead: Clean Air

Within hours after being sworn into office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order ("EO") that teed up a slew of clean air issues as top environmental priorities. The Biden administration signaled its plan to unwind four years of environmental and energy policies marked by aggressive deregulation and sidelining efforts to combat climate change.

Although only allotted a short paragraph in the EO, one notable action is the immediate review of the Safe Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles ("SAFE") Rule. Part 1 of the SAFE Rule was issued by the Trump Administration in September 2019; the Rule withdrew the preemption waiver the EPA previously granted California. This waiver had allowed the state to set its own, more stringent, tailpipe greenhouse gas standards and enforce its zero-emission vehicles mandate. Part 2 of the SAFE Rule, issued in March 2020, finalized new standards for corporate average fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions for passenger vehicles