During remarks to the 2025 Clean Fuels Conference Tuesday, the executive officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) made it clear the state is willing to fight to defend its clean air regulations against expected challenges under the new Trump administration.

“I don’t want to be adversarial,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, who was appointed to head CARB in September 2022. “I just want to make clear that we’re here to defend the programs that benefit Californians and other states that take advantage of our programs also benefit. And you may have heard that the California legislature is working to set up additional funds to shore up state and local defenses against this new administration. We’re hoping that that’s not necessary, but we are working to make sure that our programs can stay in perpetuity.”

Listen to Dr. Cliff’s comments here:
Clean Fuels remarks - Steven Cliff, CARB (18:26)