Calif. AG: Trump admin to implement Obama-era climate regulation

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's administration agreed Thursday to implement an Obama-era regulation aimed at tracking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions on federal highways.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a group of eight states who filed suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation after the agency announced in May that it would delay implementation of an executive order signed by former President Barack Obama requiring the department to track greenhouse gas emissions by vehicles traveling on federal highways.

The measure also requires the agency to set "locally appropriate targets for [greenhouse gas] emissions on national highways." The targets are not legally binding, but the DOT was instructed to prioritize funding for states that implement emissions policies that ensure the targets can be met.

The DOT said it would begin implementing the new regulations immediately.

Becerra lauded the news.

"Last week, I led a coalition of eight attorneys general and the California Air Resources Board in suing the Trump administration for attempting to skirt the law and delay implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Performance Measure. Today, the Trump administration backed down and will now implement the measure as is legally required. This is a victory for the American people and will help us tackle climate change, the most important global environmental issue of our time," he said in a statement.

In addition to California, the other states that were party to the lawsuit were Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.