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Governors urge action against car emissions |
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The Governors of California and Connecticut accused the U.S. government of "denial and inaction" on global warming, openly criticising its refusal to give states more power to regulate vehicle emissions.
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2007-05-22
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"It's high time the federal government becomes our partner or gets out of the way." This is the key message emerging from an opinion piece published by the California and Connecticut Governors in The Washington Post on Monday, 21 May. Schwarzenegger and Rell, weary of the government's inaction on global warming, accuse the Bush administration of blocking the will of tens of millions of people in California, Connecticut and 10 other states to move against vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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In 2005, California and 11 states applied for a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement vehicle emissions standard that would save 392 million tones of GHG emissions by 2020. The states, accounting for at least one-third of all new vehicle sales in the U.S., are now waiting for the EPA to grant the waiver within the next six months. Schwarzenegger, however, is "far from convinced" that the state agency will move fast enough. If it fails to settle the issue in time, Schwarzenegger and Rell announced "to take legal action [against the EPA] and settle this issue once and for all."
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Evidence of emissions growing
In their joint statement, the Governors express their dismay that the U.S. government would retard all steps that "would show the rest of the world that our nation is serious about fighting global warming."
Their call comes at the time when a recent study from the Global Carbon Project proved that despite the scientific consensus that human-made GHG emissions are affecting the world’s climate no significant progress in managing those emissions have been made so far in the developed countries. On the contrary, worldwide carbon dioxide emissions increased between 2000 and 2004 at a rate nearly three times the rate of increase of the 1990s. "In many parts of the world, we are going backwards," Dr. Canadell, co-author of the paper, said on the occasion of its presentation.
Next steps
The EPA will now hold two public hearings to receive comments on California's request for a waiver under the Clean Air Act. The first day-long hearing, to be held today, 22 May, is expected to confront California, backed by nearly a dozen states, and the car industry to discuss whether individual states can move ahead with fuel economy and GHG emissions standards stricter than national ones. R744.com will keep you informed on major outcomes of this consultation.
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More information:
› Read the opinion piece from Schwarzenegger and Rell, Washington Post, 21 May
› More about the Global Carbon Project "Drivers of accelerating CO2 emissions"
› Read our related news "California to sue EPA over emissions law", 26 April
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