Richmond,
Virginia—President
Barack Obama today directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider
its March 2008 decision to block California and 13 other states from using
tailpipe emission standards to reduce global warming pollution from cars and
light trucks. These 14-state
standards will reduce global warming pollution by more than 450 million metric
tons by 2020 – a reduction equivalent to eliminating all of the pollution from
84.7 million of today’s cars for a year, according to an Environment Virginia
analysis of data from the California Air Resources Board. The 14-state standards will cut gasoline
consumption by more than 50 billion gallons by 2020, saving Americans $93
billion at the pump. The President
also directed the Department of Transportation to move forward with standards
to improve the efficiency of vehicles nationwide.
Environment
Virginia Advocate J.R. Tolbert issued the following statement in response:
“Today,
President Obama gave a green light to states that the Bush administration had
left idling on clean cars. Making
cars both cleaner and more efficient will reduce America’s dependence on oil
and rev up our fight against global warming. President Obama signaled that his EPA will partner with the
states that have been leading the effort to reduce the pollution that causes
global warming.
“Together
with the commitment President Obama made to clean energy in the economic
recovery package, this announcement will put cleaner cars on the road and
America in the fast lane to reducing our dependence on oil, fighting global
warming, and kick-starting the clean, green economy.”
Background:
- Passenger
vehicles are the second largest source of global warming emissions nationwide.
- The
Clean Air Act allows (1) California to set auto emission standards that are stronger
than federal standards (no such standards currently exist); and (2) other
states to adopt California’s auto emission standards. To implement the standards, EPA must issue California a
waiver of federal preemption, an action the agency has taken many times in the
last four decades for innovations like catalytic converters.
- In
2005, California adopted first-of-their-kind standards requiring cars and
light-duty trucks to limit emissions that contribute to global warming. The standards would cut global warming
emissions from passenger vehicles by 30 percent by 2016. A total of 13 other states—Arizona,
Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—have adopted the
tailpipe standards. Several
additional states are actively considering adopting the standards.
- In
March 2008, in an unprecedented action, the Bush administration denied California’s
waiver request, blocking the states’ global warming emissions tailpipe
standards.
- In
2007, Congress passed the first increase in fuel economy standards in 32
years. The Bush administration
never finalized the standards to implement the increase.
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Environment Virginia is a
state-based, citizen-funded environment group working for clean air, clean
water, and open space.
