Chrysler, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan are asking a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Oakland to dismiss a lawsuit by California that accuses them of harming human health and the environment by producing vehicles that contribute to global warming, Associated Press reports.

The current suit against the big six automakers comes as they are wrangling with California over a 2002 law requiring them to cut emissions. That law has since been copied by 10 other states.

Under the law, the California Air Resources Board has adopted standards designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars and light trucks by 25 percent and from sport utility vehicles by 18 percent starting in 2009.

The auto industry is challenging those regulations.