SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday lifted an injunction on a California program that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels, in a boost for the state's pioneering efforts to combat global climate change.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the central argument that California was violating a constitutional rule against impeding interstate commerce with its low-carbon fuel standard, which regulates fuels based on the carbon produced in their production, transportation and use.
State regulators argue that the standard is a crucial component in its effort to roll back emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Transportation accounts for about 40 percent of the state's output of heat-trapping gases.
But fuel producers located outside of California cried foul and argued that the standard discriminated against their products and in favor of California-produced fuels.