SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court will hear arguments in a case seeking to stop California's first-in-the-nation mandate requiring petroleum refiners and ethanol producers to make cleaner fuels for cars and trucks.
At issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday is the constitutionality of California's "Low Carbon Fuel Standard," an important piece of the state's landmark global warming law, AB 32.
The mandate requires petroleum refiners, fuel distributors and others to make cleaner-burning fuels for the California market.
Out-of-state oil refiners and biofuels producers have sued, saying the law gives an unfair advantage to in-state fuels producers. They argue the law would place a higher "carbon-intensity score" onto fuels transported into California from elsewhere.
The state says the law merely provides incentives for companies who make cleaner-burning fuels.
The Associated Press