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Schwarzenegger to industry: "Get off your butt" |
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The California governor has predicted global economic losses for U.S. carmakers if they refuse to use new technologies reducing vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time demanding to make environmental movements "mainstream" and "sexy".
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2007-04-13
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Schwarzenegger urged the auto industry to take more aggressive action to comply with new emission standards, adding that if they refused "someone else will. The Japanese will, the Chinese will, the South Koreans, the Germans will – the list goes on and on."
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Being sure that "consumer-friendly environmentalism" and the "power of technology" would help to slow down global warming, Schwarzenegger demanded to make environmental movements "attractive so everyone wants to participate." A new successful movement built on passion would help not only troubled carmakers to compete on the global market but would also benefit the U.S. economy at large. "Only technology will ultimately save Detroit," the California governor emphasized at the Global Environment Conference in Washington.
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California to go ahead with GHG emissions law
The position of California as a "green leader" has been boosted by a recent Supreme Court Ruling that had found the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the authority to regulate vehicle GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. California can now move ahead with its request for a federal waiver allowing the state to cut vehicle GHG emissions. On 11 April, Schwarzenegger met with EPA’s administrator Stephen Johnson to discuss this issue.
In 2002, California introduced the nation's first emissions law requiring carmakers to reduce GHG emissions by 30% by 2016, starting from 2009. So far, ten other States have adopted the California law, awaiting now the waiver to proceed to its implementation.
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More information:
› Speech Governor Schwarzenegger, 12 April 2007
› See our related news about the Supreme Court ruling from 3 April 2007
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