California filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, looking to reverse the agency's decision to deny the state a waiver that would have allowed it and 19 other states to regulate vehicle emissions.

"They are ignoring the will of millions of people who want their government to take action in the fight against global warming," said Gov. Schwarzenegger.

The agency blocked the waiver last month, saying the fuel standards passed in new federal energy legislation offered a better regulatory framework for cutting vehicle emissions (see U.S. EPA rejects Calif. car emissions waiver).

The legislation would require a fuel efficiency average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

But California said its regulation would offer a stronger emissions standard, cutting greenhouse gas from new vehicles by nearly 30 percent by model year 2016.

"California has always been a leader in protecting the environment, and we will do everything in our power to continue that proud tradition."

The loss for California was the first time the EPA fully denied a waiver for the state under the Clean Air Act since Congress gave the state the right to obtain such waivers in 1967.

Schwarzenegger first sued the agency in November after he claimed the agency dragged its feet on a ruling on the waiver (see California slaps suit on U.S. EPA over car emissions).

States that have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, California's automobile emissions standards are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.