California's regulatory watchdog today approved long-awaited changes to the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and an effective date of 1 July, the office said today.
The state's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) confirmed that it approved revised rulemaking language that sets a 9pc tougher program target for 2025, limits participation for crop-based biofuels, and other changes to a program that has helped reshape US west coast fuel markets. OAL also approved the 1 July start date CARB had requested, the office said in a statement.
The decision advances program changes unexpectedly delayed for six months by regulatory review. But the rule now takes effect with heightened political scrutiny on how California drivers will shoulder its costs.
CARB staff did not immediately describe how the agency would implement the rule. Suppliers have sought clarity on how the agency will apply changes to a year already half-over.
LCFS programs require yearly reductions of road fuel carbon intensity. Higher-carbon fuels that exceed annual limits incur deficits that suppliers must offset with credits generated from the distribution to the market of approved, lower-carbon alternatives.
Uncertainty over the program's obligations and opportunities chilled the LCFS credit market this year. Credits plunged lower by 17pc after OAL disapproved the rulemaking in February. They sank again following CARB's 16 May submittal of revisions to the rule, falling earlier this month to their lowest traded levels in nearly a year.
