But Need Green Light from EPA, EPA Hearing Tomorrow
Boston, MA—Tailpipe standards
already in place in Massachusetts
and 11 other states would reduce global warming emissions by nearly 400 million
metric tons by 2020 – a reduction level equivalent to taking 74 million of
today’s cars off the road for an entire year, according to a new report
released today by the Environment Massachusetts. The report comes as the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to hold a public hearing on whether to give
states the green light to reduce global warming pollution from cars and SUVs.
“Cars and
SUVs are a massive source of global warming pollution,” said Environment
Massachusetts Director Frank Gorke. “As
the Bush administration spins its wheels and delays action on global warming,
the states are putting real solutions to work.
States must be allowed to fight global warming,” he continued.
Environment
Massachusetts’
new report analyzes government data and non-profit studies to estimate the
reduction in global warming emissions, reduction in oil consumption, and consumer
savings that would result from the global warming emission standards for cars
and SUVs that have been adopted by 12 states.
The report also looks at the benefits from the additional six states
that are considering the policy. Key
findings include:
•
The
12-state standards will cut global warming emissions from cars, light trucks,
and SUVs by 392 million metric tons by 2020, the equivalent to taking 74
million of today’s cars off the road for an entire year.
•
The
12-state standards could reduce gasoline consumption by as much as 8.3 billion
gallons per year in 2020—as much as is consumed by all the vehicles in Florida in a year—and
enable consumers to save up to $25.8 billion annually at the pump in 2020.
•
If
the six additional states that are considering the policy adopt the standards, the
total global warming emission reductions would grow to 536 million metric tons
by 2020, the equivalent to taking 101 million of today’s cars off the road for
an entire year.
“It’s a
win-win situation. Reducing global warming
pollution from cars and SUVs will also start to reduce our dependence on oil
and save consumers money at the gas pump,” said Gorke.
In late
2004, California
adopted first-of-their-kind standards requiring cars and light-duty trucks to
limit emissions that contribute to global warming. Since then, 11 other states—including Connecticut,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—have adopted the tailpipe standards. EPA has been sitting for 18 months on California’s request for
a waiver under the Clean Air Act. EPA has routinely issued similar waivers more
than 50 times in the last four decades, in effect blocking implementation of
the emission standards in California
and other states. Passenger vehicles are
the second largest source of global warming emissions nationwide.
EPA is
holding two public hearings on the waiver request – one tomorrow in the DC
metro area and the second next week in Sacramento. EPA scheduled the hearings and opened a public
comment period on the issue after the Supreme Court ruled in April that the
Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other
global warming pollutants from cars.
“The Bush
EPA’s failure to give the states the stamp of approval to put cleaner cars on
the road is more than just bureaucratic delay.
It marks a clear decision to cater to powerful automakers instead of protecting
the public from very real risks,” said Gorke.
Earlier
this year, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
concluded that global warming will lead to more droughts,
floods, heat waves, water stress, forest fires, and coastal flooding in the
U.S., but that “many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed” by reining in
global warming emissions.
Tomorrow’s
public hearing starts at 9 am at the EPA
Potomac Yard
Conference Center,
2777 Crystal Drive,
Room S-1204 in Arlington, Virginia.
Massachusetts
Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles recently sent a formal
request to EPA asking them to grant the waiver.
“The Bush
EPA should immediately give Massachusetts
and the other states the green light to put clean cars on the road,” Gorke concluded.
###
Environment Massachusetts, the new home of MASSPIRG’s
environmental work, is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to
protecting the air, water and open spaces of the Commonwealth.
