Next week, we’re going to have a chance to ask Congress to overturn California’s gas car ban, so keep an eye out for an email on Monday or Tuesday with more details and an opportunity to send a letter to your representatives. More to come!

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn about California’s ban, Ericka wrote up a fantastic overview that you can read here.

Happy Friday!

Charlie and the AFPM | EMPOWER team

In the news

FAQs on California’s gas car ban - AFPM

California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation is in the news again and you might have some questions. This is an overview of the California policy and whether or not EPA has to affirmatively grant California’s waiver requests. We take a closer look at the Congressional Review Act and ACCII here.  

California’s EV Mandate Goes to Congress for Repeal - The Wall Street Journal

The Biden Administration in December approved a waiver letting California set its own vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions standards. The Clean Air Act lets the Environmental Protection Agency grant such a waiver only to meet “compelling and extraordinary conditions.” This waiver authority was intended to help California reduce pollutants that contribute to smog. But CO2 doesn’t cause smog, and California doesn’t have any more compelling need to regulate vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions than any other state.

Exclusive: U.S. piles pressure on Iraq to resume Kurdish oil exports, sources say - Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, eight sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

US Refiners Mull Switch to Alternative Lighter Crudes Amid Trump Tariff Fears - U.S. News & World Report

Top U.S. refiners are poised to seek alternative sources for heavy, sour crudes, including running more domestic grades, as they await clarity around U.S. President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs on imports from the nation's top crude suppliers Canada and Mexico, executives said.

California’s controversial new fuel rules rejected by state legal office - CalMatters

The fuel standard enacted by the Air Resources Board last year was the subject of a rancorous debate, largely because it will potentially increase the price of gasoline and diesel fuels by an unknown amount.

Michigan appeals court upholds permits for Great Lakes pipeline tunnel project - WILX10

A Michigan appeals court has ruled that Enbridge Energy’s plans to build a tunnel around an aging pipeline that runs beneath a Great Lakes channel can continue. Enbridge wants to build a protective tunnel around a 4-mile stretch of its Line 5 pipeline along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which link lakes Michigan and Huron.