But Need Green Light from EPA, EPA
Hearing Tomorrow in Arlington
CONCORD — Tailpipe standards already in
place in 11 states across the country 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 New Hampshire. 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 New
Hampshire Advocate Erika Staaf. “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,” she continued.
Environment
New Hampshire’s
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, including New
Hampshire, 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 Staaf.
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, which EPA has routinely issued 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 corporate interests instead
of protecting the public from very real risks,” said Staaf.
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.
###
Environment New Hampshire is a non-partisan, non-profit
environmental organization whose mission is to advocate for clean air, clean
water and open space on behalf of our 2,000 statewide members.
