A federal judge in Vermont gave the first legal endorsement today to laws in
California and 14 other states that aim to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by
automobiles and light trucks.
The judge, William K. Sessions, rejected a variety of challenges to the laws
from auto manufacturers, including their contention that the states were
usurping federal authority.
The ruling follows a decision by the United States Supreme Court in April that
the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse
gases as air pollutants. The ruling in Vermont explicitly endorses the idea that
California has the right to set its own greenhouse-gas regulations, and other
states, like Vermont, have the right to follow California’s lead.
Judge Sessions ruled that the auto manufacturers had not proved their claims
that compliance with the law in Vermont — a clone of the groundbreaking statute
passed in California — was not ...