RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) — California’s air regulatory agency on Friday approved a new low carbon fuel standard after a marathon meeting, a decision that’s been simmering for weeks and one detractors claim is certain to raise gas prices.
The 12-to-2 decision by the board affects rules over the intensity level of carbon in transportation fuels. Steeped in bureaucracy and wonky policy, the amendments to rules over the low carbon fuel standard became a flash point in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s presidential election.
On Friday, climate advocates cited the added specter of another Donald Trump administration where the federal government soon will no longer support California’s environmental goals.
Many Republicans in the Legislature have pointed to the change as certain to increase prices at the pump and called for delaying the vote. Several public speakers at the meeting also decried the changes, saying they provided no real enforcement over emissions and will only hurt people already living in high pollution areas.
“Are our lives a joke to you?” a woman identifying herself as Andrea told the board. Some 150 people spoke to the board during public comment.
Supporters of the amendments pointed to what they called the necessity of the change to meet California’s strict climate goals. Many speakers representing the energy industry urged approval of the amendments.
Todd Campbell, with Clean Energy Fuels, told the board that the existing low carbon fuel standard program has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and led to millions of dollars in investment.
“The program is working,” he said. “It’s a model for other states and around the world.”
While speakers at the air resources board’s meeting alternated between the need for strong regulations that reduce emissions and a push to delay the vote for more work on the amendments, little discussion occurred during public comment on the political hot potato — how the change would affect gas prices.
That topic has dominated conversation at the state Capitol. Regulating the oil and gas industry to keep prices in check led Governor Gavin Newsom to call a special session of the Legislature that in October passed a bill implementing new rules for refiners.
Assemblymember Joe Patterson, a Rocklin Republican, introduced a bill during the special session that would have prevented the air resources board from amending the low carbon fuel standard before January 2026. It failed to advance.
Several people have made estimates on how much prices could rise, with state Senate Republicans saying Friday it would climb by 65 cents. Others have offered a range of estimates, with one board member saying it began at zero. There’s no clear indication on when a possible price hike would happen.
“It’s absolutely irresponsible and unacceptable that this board has chosen to ignore how its policies will impact gas prices,” said state Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, a Yucaipa Republican, in a Friday statement. “How can they possibly vote to approve it if they don’t even know what it will do to Californians at the pump?”
Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a Palmdale Republican, told the board during the public comment period that his constituents on average drive 100 miles each day. They can’t afford electric vehicles and will suffer under higher gas prices, he said.
Opponents of the rule change fear that tweaking the rules would affect the program’s credit system, which potentially would ripple into the retail fuel market.
in California, transportation fuels are given a carbon intensity score. Fuels with carbon intensity above the target create a deficit, while those under the target get a credit. Those credits are bought and sold among fuel producers.
The program is intended to incentivize the production of fuels with a lower carbon intensity, which would enable the state to meet its climate and air quality goals. The amendments approved Friday make the carbon intensity target more stringent.
That’s expected to affect the deficits created for each gallon, which in turn will affect prices at the pump, according to a report by Danny Cullenward, a Kleinman Center senior fellow.
Air resources board officials have pushed back on the argument that the amendments would affect gasoline prices. Steven Cliff, executive officer of the board, said last month that there’s no relationship between the cost of credits and gas prices.
Board member Hector De La Torre expressed frustration Friday over some media reports and elected officials blaming government for the low carbon fuel standard significantly affecting gas prices. Crude oil is some 35% of gas prices and the low carbon fuel standard accounts for about 8 to 10 cents, he said.
“If it’s not the oil, and it’s not us, that only leaves the oil company,” he added.