Fate of California's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Effort Back in EPA's Hands
Federal regulators heard conflicting arguments today from environmentalists and California officials on one side and supporters of the auto industry on the other whether the Environmental Protection Agency should reverse an earlier decision and grant California the right to set tough greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks - standards that would apply in at least 14 states.
The EPA convened the crowded, day-long hearing to reconsider the Bush Administration's rejection of California's request to enforce its own strict emissions regulations. President Barack Obama, who campaigned to reduce greenhouse gases significantly, had ordered the agency in January to reconsider the matter.
The state needs a waiver from the EPA in order to implement air quality standards that differ from federal standards.
Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, which would establish the state's standards if the waiver is granted, said global warming is more pronounced in her state than in others, partly because of carbon dioxide and other gases coming from the huge number of motor vehicles there.
She called the EPA's denial of the waiver at the end of 2007 a radical departure from years past when scores of the state's requests for other waivers were routinely granted.
California, with its longstanding smog problems and more vehicles than any other state, has been at the forefront of policies to reduce pollution from cars.
Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have chosen to adopt the California greenhouse gas standards, under federal rules that allow them to do so, and six more states are considering following suit. Together, the states account for more than half the national new-car market.
Instead of opposing the California standards, automakers should willingly adhere to stricter emissions controls given the billions of dollars in federal money being used to help keep Chrysler and General Motors afloat, argued David Donniger, policy director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's climate center.
"If taxpayers are going to put more money into these companies, we need to be sure they will be making products that make sense when the customers come back," he said. "The pathway to get there starts with the California waiver."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted a statement saying that approving the waiver for his state would be "an historic win for clean air and millions of Americans who want efficient and environmentally friendly cars."
Because greenhouse gases are a direct result of burning carbon-based fuels, the easiest way to cut such emissions is to boost vehicles' fuel economy.
The California standards would effectively require new cars and light trucks sold in the state to be averaging 42 miles per gallon by 2020 or would necessitate widespread use of low-carbon and carbon-free fuels, such as electricity.
There is no national greenhouse gas emissions standard, but federal fuel economy standards, now require a new-vehicle fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Martha Coakley, the attorney general of Massachusetts - one of the states that adheres to California's emissions standards - also submitted testimony calling for unified regulations across the country. "We are urging the agency to grant the California waiver while it proceeds to put federal standards in place that will establish national standards at least as strict," she said.
The EPA should not undermine the authority of states to adopt tougher standards, as it has been the states, not the federal government, that have "driven technological and regulatory innovation, and economic and environmental progress," said Coakley.
The Obama administration has signaled its intent to pursue such a standard, but California officials have said it will take the federal government years to implement what California already has on the books.
One senior senator spoke against granting California the authority. Auto manufacturers need the predictability of a single nationwide standard policy and not the "market confusion" that a two-tier standard would bring, said Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, home to battered Chrysler, Ford and General Motors - which warned today that its auditors have raised "substantial doubt" about its ability to survive.
"Global warming is not unique to California," Levin said. "The local regulatory solution is not the answer to a global problem."
Some nine panels provided testimony today, followed by about two dozen private citizens who had applied to address the hearing.
Automakers' interests were represented by industry groups including the National Auto Dealers Association, whose members are struggling in the slumping economy. "A state-by-state patchwork approach would ... result in dealers in states that adopt CARB's rules having lots filled with unsold vehicles," NADA Chairman John McEleney testified.
"The CARB approach would force manufacturers to deliver vehicles to dealers that their customers may not want and to ration the vehicles they would want."
McEleney also said a waiver would force manufacturers to build vehicles that are smaller and lighter and thus less safe.
But Jim Kliesch, a senior clean vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, testified that auto makers could combine existing technologies and materials to attain significant greenhouse gas reductions immediately without compromising safety.
Such moves could include combinations of lightweight, high-strength materials, more efficient engines and transmissions, downsized turbocharged power plants, electric power steering and improved climate control systems, among other measures, Kliesch said in a pre-hearing interview Wednesday.
There's no timetable for EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to issue a ruling on the California waiver request, but she's expected to act soon. The state has been seeking the waiver since 2007.
Terril Yue Jones, Contributor
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- John O'Dell March 5, 2009, 5:16 PM
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- Emissions
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- California Greenhouse Gas Plan, EPA, Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Greenhouse Gas Standards
I could comment on lots of parts of this article, but I'll take the one that stands out the most to me. "Mary Nichols ... said global warming is more pronounced in her state than in others". I believe it speaks for itself.