California's first-in-the-nation mandate requiring fuel producers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been upheld by a federal court.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected arguments from fuel makers that California's low carbon fuel standard discriminates against out-of-state producers.
The ruling reverses a U.S. District Court ruling in favor of the fuel makers, and removes an injunction halting implementation of the law.
The fuel standard is a key piece of California's landmark global warming law. It is meant to cut the state's dependence on petroleum by 20 percent and accounts for one-tenth of the state's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
An attorney for the plaintiffs did not immediately comment.