Alaska joins lawsuit challenging Biden’s vehicle emissions rule

Alaska is one of 21 Republican-led states suing the Biden administration over a new federal requirement to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles on roads.

Republican attorneys general, including Alaska’s Treg Taylor, argued in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Kentucky that the federal government lacks the legal authority to impose the emission-limits rules.

“Biden has made repeated attempts to use federal agencies to carry out his wishes when the law doesn’t support his extreme green agenda,” Taylor said in a statement. “In this instance, like so many before it, a federal agency not only overstepped its boundaries by creating this mandate but sought to force states to enforce the mandate. Alaska will continue to fight all Biden administration efforts to bypass Congress, the Constitution, and the law.”

Taylor has repeatedly joined other Republican-controlled states in lawsuits challenging the Biden administration, including in lawsuits opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates, LGBTQ+ protections in schools and workplaces, and a pause in oil and gas lease sales, among other issues.

The emission rules, announced by the Federal Highway Administration last month, are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to link infrastructure investments with environmental priorities. Transportation accounts for 29% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Under the rules, states will be required to calculate emissions from vehicles on major routes. They will then be required to set a target for reducing emissions over time. States will not incur a penalty if their emissions increase.

Under the leadership of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska has not set any specific greenhouse gas emissions-related goals, including for vehicles. In 2019, Dunleavy abolished the state’s climate change strategy commission, which was established by his predecessor.