Raleigh—With gas
prices on the rise, requirements for more efficient, less polluting cars would save
the average North Carolina
consumer more than $20 each month, according to a new Environment North
Carolina report,
“Putting the Brakes on Global Warming.” The analysis also found that global warming
pollution standards for automobiles—known as the Clean Cars program—would slash
all greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks, and SUV’s by 10 percent by
2020.
“With global warming threatening North Carolina’s future and
gas prices skyrocketing, the Clean Cars program is good for the environment and
even better for the economy,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison, Co-Chair of the
Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and the lead sponsor of a bill to
enact the Clean Cars program in North Carolina.
The Clean Cars Program, which originated in California and
has been adopted by 13 other states, requires new cars, trucks, and SUV’s to
emit about 30 percent less global warming pollution than today’s passenger
vehicles.
Because more fuel-efficient cars produce less carbon dioxide
pollution, the Clean Cars Program is expected to save consumers money. The study found that the program would save
consumers more than $20 a month in the first five years of the life of the car,
and more than $40 a month after the loan is fully repaid. Drivers of SUV’s, pick-ups, and used cars
would reap the most savings.
Without the Clean Cars program, global warming pollution
from cars, trucks, and SUV’s, which make up nearly a quarter of the state’s
carbon dioxide pollution, is expected to increase 12 percent by 2020, even with
recently updated federal miles per gallon standards, according to the report.
“The science is clear that we need bold action to avoid
climate catastrophe,” said Elizabeth Ouzts, director of Environment North
Carolina and co-author of the report.
“The Clean Cars program can help us put the brakes on global warming.”
“The federal
government’s recent increase in the fuel economy of cars showed that the auto
industry can put technology to work,” said Christa Wagner, lobbyist for the NC
Sierra Club. “But more action is needed
to reduce emissions and save consumers money.”
Background on the
Clean Cars program
Last December, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request for a waiver to enforce the Clean Cars program, stalling the measure in all 14
states. In so doing, Administrator
Johnson went against the legal and technical advice
of his own attorneys and scientists.
“Unfortunately,” said Rep. Grier Martin (D-Wake), prime sponsor of Clean Cars legislation with Rep. Harrison, “Last year EPA
chose politics over practical solutions for curbing global warming pollution
and saving consumers’ money.”
More than a dozen states
and several environmental organizations are now challenging the EPA in court
over the maneuver.
“The time wasted in court battles
could have been time spent saving families money at the gas pump and reducing the
global warming pollution that threatens the Carolina shores” said Michael
Regan, Southeast climate and air policy director for Environmental Defense Fund
and former EPA national program manager.
All three Presidential candidates have expressed their
support for states moving forward with the program. Last week, a bill forcing the EPA to grant
the waiver to California passed the
Senate Environment and Public Works committee.
State action
Lawmakers filed bills in both houses last year that would
implement the Clean Cars program in North Carolina. A recent statewide
survey by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling shows that voters support the
legislation by a three to one margin, while 75 percent of North
Carolina voters favor the state taking action now to
reduce global warming pollution.
In light of current roadblocks to the program by the Bush
Administration, Reps. Harrison, Martin, Ruth Samuelson (R-Mecklenburg), and Charles
Thomas (R-Buncombe) introduced a “study” bill last week that would require an
examination of the costs and benefits to North Carolina
of adopting the Clean Cars standards.
The bill, H 2526, would require a report back to the General Assembly in
2009, at which point the EPA is widely expected to drop its opposition—if the courts
or Congress have not acted already.
Advocates for the Clean Cars Program argued the study bill’s
passage would represent an important step towards ultimate adoption of the
Clean Cars program.
