The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has challenged California's recently enacted low carbon fuel standard, which requires annual reductions in the "carbon intensity" of gas and diesel over the next 10 years.
The challenge is based on the belief that "shuffling" of low-carbon fuel to California and away from other states "will significantly burden fuel providers without any net change in fuel's carbon intensity on a global scale," thereby increasing what the trucking industry will pay for fuel, say ATA officials.
ATA Vice President Rich Mosowitz says the regulation "would essentially ban imports to California of fuels derived from unconventional sources, such as oil sands from Canada, oil shale from the western U.S., or domestic coal supplies that can be converted into transportation fuels.
"Discouraging these fuels will simply increase costs while failing to prevent their export to and consumption by other nations."
A complaint has been filed with the U.S. District Court in California. The Center for North American Energy Security, Consumer Energy Alliance and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association also have joined the suit.
