When federal climate policy becomes unpredictable, two levers still matter

I learned of the Trump administration’s repeal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Endangerment Finding in an email from Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, founder of the Jewish environmental organization Dayenu. That repeal is not an isolated act, but part of a broader pattern of federal actions that have made U.S. climate and transportation policy increasingly unpredictable, undermining progress on carbon emissions while favoring short-term fossil-fuel interests.

That volatility stands in contrast to developments elsewhere. In December 2025, battery-electric vehicles in Europe, for the first time, outsold gasoline-only cars — a milestone reached through consistent, cumulative policy rather than regulatory whiplash. Markets respond not just to ambition, but to clarity.

California provides a domestic example of what that clarity looks like. Over several decades, diesel engines have been transformed by progressively tighter emissions standards, delivering dramatic reductions in soot, smog-forming nitrogen oxides and toxic pollutants. California’s approach has been to build on those gains. The state incorporates long-standing federal diesel standards as a baseline and strengthens them through longer durability requirements, real-world emissions controls and fleet-level accountability.

Cleaner fuels are layered on top of cleaner engines. A majority of diesel fuel used in California’s trucking sector has shifted to renewable diesel — often called R99 or HVO — a hydrogen-treated fuel that can directly replace petroleum diesel. Because renewable diesel works within modern emissions-controlled engines, it preserves decades of air-quality progress while further reducing particulate emissions and lifecycle carbon intensity. This is cumulative progress, not a reset.

None of this is accidental. It reflects sustained leadership by the California Air Resources Board and its Low Carbon Fuel Standard — policies that are demanding, transparent and predictable. That predictability is precisely why automakers, engine manufacturers and fuel suppliers design to California’s standards, and why those standards increasingly shape markets far beyond the state’s borders.

New York therefore has a meaningful opportunity. By fully aligning our transportation and fuel policies with California’s, rather than pursuing fragmented alternatives, we can help anchor a large, standards-based market that drives technology deployment and emissions reductions nationally — even in the absence of reliable federal leadership.

The second lever is private capital. As federal oversight weakens, there is growing risk that environmental, social and governance investing becomes untethered from real environmental outcomes. Too many ratings systems emphasize financial risk management rather than measurable impact. For ESG to remain credible — and for capital to support genuine emissions reductions — definitions must be policed and impact must matter. Climate-aligned investing can complement strong state policy, but only if the designation retains meaning.  

Impact-oriented rating services, such as Climetrics and The Corporate Knights Global 100, exist, fortunately.

Taken together, these two levers — predictable state regulation and impact-based private investment — remain powerful. They offer a path forward that does not depend on federal consistency, but on clarity, continuity and accountability. Those are choices New York can still make.

Stephen Ditmore is a Riverdale resident and industrial designer who gets excited about new battery technologies and alternative fuels.