Jonathan Brightbill Discusses EPA MY 2027 Auto Emissions Proposals with Hart Energy

Winston & Strawn Partner Jonathan Brightbill spoke with Hart Energy about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut emissions from model year 2027 and later cars and light trucks and the current lawsuit challenging the implementation of emissions standards for 2023-2026 light-duty vehicles. In Texas v. EPA, 16 states argue that the agency overstepped its authority by implementing the new standards, stating that automakers will be forced to build more electric vehicles than consumers want in order to comply with the strict standards. 

“What the D.C. Circuit decides in the existing case with respect to the existing standards will be very relevant for determining whether these proposed [2027] regulations could go into effect,” Jonathan explained. “There could be additional issues that are challenged in the 2027 and later rules that just got published, as well.” 

For example, Jonathan noted that materials dependent on foreign supply chains used in the construction of electric vehicle batteries impacts the agency’s required consideration of feasibility and cost. To “the extent that the assumptions that they have made are overly optimistic about the availability of heavy metals and other resources that are necessary for the deployment of electric vehicles on the scale of what they are talking about here,” he said. “Those types of considerations are also within the scope of what litigants could challenge at some point.”

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