Editorial Board

Back California Over Trump on Car Emissions

The state's authority to set high limits on greenhouse-gas emissions is fixed in U.S. law.

March 27, 2017 at 4:39 PM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

Helping America clear the air.
Photographer: Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images

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Thanks to a peculiarity of U.S. law, California has special power to set car pollution standards that affect the whole country. And the whole country -- even the whole world -- has benefited as, over decades, the state has pushed automakers to create ever-better pollution-limiting technology and ever-more fuel-efficient cars. Today, in the face of President Donald Trump's threats to let greenhouse gases rip, California's help is needed more than ever.

The Trump administration has signaled a desire to undermine the state's de facto national authority. State leaders have vowed to resist, and are already moving ahead with stricter emissions standards. Fortunately, California has a good chance of winning this fight.