Environmental Defense: EPA Denies State Climate Action

December 19, 2007 – Vol. 12 No.39

Environmental Defense: EPA Denies State Climate Action.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has denied a Clean Air Act Waiver that would allow California and 17 other states the right to proceed with regulations that would reduce global warming pollution from new automobiles.

EPA denied California’s waiver, saying that new CAFE standards in the recently authorized energy bill, signed into law by President Bush, would suffice to reduce global warming emissions from new automobiles.

“New CAFE standards, if they go into effect, do not fully phase in until 2020,” said Jim Marston, general counsel for Environmental Defense. “The California greenhouse gas limits will occur earlier - beginning in 2009 and fully phased in by 2016. With the mounting evidence of climate change impacts occurring now, it is imperative that we are take action immediately.”

Nationwide 17 states have awaited a decision by EPA to move forward with clean car standards modeled after California’s including: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington. California and these states account for nearly 50 percent of the total U.S. population and account for approximately 45 percent of new automobile sales in the country.

In 2003, California used its special authority under the Clean Air Act to pass legislation requiring the state's air agency, the California Air Resources Board, to issue regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars. The Clean Cars law, also known as the Pavley law, would reduce carbon emissions by 22 percent by 2012 and by 30 percent by 2016.

The Pavley/Clean Cars standards were developed over four years (Legislation: 2002, Regulation: 2003, 2004, Administrative law review: 2005) with careful and measured technical review and public input. In contrast, the waiver denial seems to have been developed during the course of a couple of weeks, once the White House directed EPA to deny the waiver. The decision doesn’t appear to have any connection to the testimony and public comment received, in which EPA received a record-setting number of comments, and heard from some of the world’s leading scientists, engineers, government officials and even former EPA administrators. Only the auto industry opposed granting the waiver, according to Environmental Defense.

Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.(12/19/07)

Links:

Environmental Defense
http://www.environmentaldefense.org

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No