Atlanta, GA—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 Georgia 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.
Jennette Gayer, Environment
Georgia’s Policy Advocate 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.”
“As Atlanta continues to struggle
with unhealthy levels of air pollution, generated in large part by the millions
of cars and trucks that drive on city streets everyday, we hope that this
movement will inspire leaders at the state and national level to bring cleaner
cars to Georgia and other states that have not yet passed clean car
standards.”
“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.
