A good first step, but more needs to be done.
That sums up the reaction from Oregon’s political and environmental leaders to the news that the feds will start regulating greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and trucks.
They also say it’s a reminder that if not for California, Oregon, Washington and 12 other states – the feds might still be delaying instead of taking action.
Earlier today, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from car and light trucks, starting with the 2012 model year. Over a four year period, new vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to meet increasingly higher standards for fuel efficiency. By 2016, the average vehicle is supposed to get about 34-miles per gallon. Cars that use less fuel also emit less pollution, including greenhouse gases.
In effect, the feds are saying that the rest of the country needs to catch up with Oregon.
To be fair about it, California is the state that’s been leading the way on higher fuel standards since 2002. Oregon jumped on board in 2005, and our state laws are designed to follow what California is doing. Over the years, 12 other states also joined the effort.
What the feds are doing is to apply the California standards nationwide.
“This would never have happened,” says Brock Howell of Environment Oregon, “without states like Oregon adopting clean car standards.” Howell also praised Governor Kulongoski for his leadership on the issue.
As for the Governor, he released a statement saying, “The nationwide adoption of these standards clearly shows that enacting good clean energy policy doesn’t mean “going alone” or jeopardizing our state economy. Today Oregonians along with citizens from the 13 other states can stand proudly as champions for clean air and reduced dependence on fossil fuels.”
Chris Hagerbaumer with the Oregon Environmental Council took part in the discussions that led to Oregon adopting the tougher standards in 2005. That was a time when Hummer sales were peaking and a representative for Oregon auto dealers boldly predicted that Smart cars would never sell in the U.S. “I’m glad to say he was proven wrong,” she says. “Oregon really paid attention to the future.”
The higher fuel standards are the first steps the federal government has taken to reduce greenhouse gases. Because they only apply to passenger vehicles, they don’t include freight shippers such as large trucks, ships and trains. Nor does it include stationary sources of greenhouse gas pollution such as factories and power plants.
Because of that, Dan Galpern of the Western Environmental Law Center call this a “modest step” in the right direction. He says it paves the way for regulating these other sources of greenhouse gases. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says stationary sources won’t have to worry about Clean Air permits for at least another year, and then only the largest polluters.
Threats remain. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski wants to limit EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases. Galpern says that would be a “mistake of historic proportions. We can’t win this battle with our hands tied behind our back.”
Howell says environmentalists are also monitoring efforts in the House to weaken the new rules.
But for today, environmentalists are pleased to see that Oregon and the 13 other states played a role in bringing about improvements at the federal level. “State action matter,”says Howell. “In fact we are leading, putting our markets in the right place and getting a national standard passed.”
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