States rev up ‘Clean Car’ campaigns
Sunday, September 16, 2007
By Edward Fitzpatrick
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Local environmental advocates are hailing two
developments in the legal battle over whether states, including Rhode
Island, can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
Governor Carcieri on Wednesday joined a dozen other governors
in calling for automakers to drop lawsuits challenging the authority of
states to set limits on carbon dioxide emissions from autos.
And on the same day, a federal judge in Vermont ruled that states can
regulate those emissions, rejecting automakers’ claims that federal law
preempts state rules and that technology can’t be developed to meet
them.
“The court and the governors are telling the automobile
industry the same thing: It’s time to fire the lawyers and hire the
engineers,” said Cynthia Giles, director of the Rhode Island Advocacy
Center for the Conservation Law Foundation, which is involved in one of
the local cases. “Stop fighting and get to work producing cleaner
cars.”
Matt Auten, an advocate for Environment Rhode Island, said,
“The decision in Vermont and the governors’ letter are saying these are
common sense standards to tackle global warming and save consumers
money at the pump.”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers issued a statement
responding to both the Vermont decision and the letter from the 13
governors.
“Federal law is designed to ensure a consistent fuel-economy program
across the country,” alliance president and Chief Executive Officer
Dave McCurdy said. “It makes sense that only the federal government can
regulate fuel economy. Automakers support improving fuel-economy
standards nationally, rather than piecemeal, and will continue to work
with the Congress, [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]
and [the Environmental Protection Agency] to reduce our oil dependence
while increasing fuel economy.”
McCarthy said the alliance plans to study the Vermont decision and is considering an appeal.
Carcieri, a Republican, joined a bipartisan group of governors
from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New York and seven
other states in signing a letter sent to General Motors, Chrysler,
Honda, Ford, Toyota and Nissan executives.
“The impact of global warming presents a grave threat to public health,
natural resources and our economy,” the governors said. “The public is
demanding that states, in the absence of federal action, take real and
meaningful steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Ensuring that
our automobiles have a lower carbon footprint is an essential piece of
our greenhouse gas reduction strategy.”
The governors said that in the case of Massachusetts v. the
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the
EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases and the EPA must
exercise that authority if it finds those gases may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger health.
“In light of this decision, we do not believe it is productive
for your industry to continue to fight state implementation of clean
tailpipe standards,” the governors wrote. “As governors committed to
addressing the issue of climate change, we ask that you withdraw your
legal challenges to clean vehicle standards and begin working with us
to meet our joint obligations to begin reversing the threat of global
warming. We would prefer to follow a path that encourages innovation
not litigation.”
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Burlington, Vt., ruled that
states can regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles.
During a 16-day trial that ended in May, auto industry executives had
testified that regulations adopted by California and 11 other states
would not stop global warming but would impose devastating new costs on
the industry.
Slated
to start phasing in as of 2009, the limits would require a 30-percent
reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks by 2016, a
standard that carmakers have maintained would require average
fuel-economy standards for cars and the lightest category of trucks of
43.7 miles per gallon.
But U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III ruled that
Vermont’s “Clean Car” regulations were properly adopted and did not
conflict with other federal laws designed to regulate the fuel
efficiency of motor vehicles. The judge said there was no question that
greenhouse-gas regulations “present great challenges” to automakers,
but he said, “History suggests that the ingenuity of the industry, once
put in gear, responds admirably to most technological challenges.”
Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, a Democrat, said, “The
ruling speaks to many of the same issues raised in Rhode Island’s
pending Clean Car case and embraces a sensible approach to dealing with
fuel efficiency and global warming.”
Automakers have filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in
Providence.
One suit, filed by the Association of International Automobile
Manufacturers, argues, among other things, that the Clean Air Act gives
the EPA exclusive authority to regulate car emissions. The only
exception allows California to seek an EPA waiver and for other states
to adopt standards identical to California. But, the suits say,
California has not obtained a waiver for its regulations, so Rhode
Island can’t adopt and enforce California’s regulations.
Another suit, filed by a variety of auto dealers and the
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, argues, among other things, that,
“It is not the prerogative of any individual state in the union to
attempt to establish policy for global-climate matters through the
regulation of motor vehicles. The United States is committed to
addressing global climate change through multilateral agreements, and
to date has chosen to refrain from motor-vehicle greenhouse-gas
controls at the international level.”
In response, lawyers from the state argue that the lawsuits are
premature, saying Rhode Island can’t enforce the new regulations unless
and until the EPA grants a waiver to California. “Until EPA rules on
California’s waiver request — a ruling that can take a number of years
— plaintiffs’ case is not ripe for view,” the state lawyers wrote.
“If
EPA denies the State of California’s waiver request, then there are no
preemption issues for this court to adjudicate.”
On Friday, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said the governor “believes
that states like Rhode Island must have the freedom to fight
pollution.”
“Under the governor’s direction, the state adopted the California
auto-emission standards, which are among the toughest in the nation,”
Neal said. “Unfortunately, the auto industry has fought our efforts to
keep Rhode Island’s air clean, going so far as to take our state and
others to court.”
With Wednesday’s decision from the judge in Vermont, Neal said,
“Governor Carcieri is hopeful that the auto industry will back off,
recognize Rhode Island’s right to regulate pollution inside our
borders, and work with us to improve the environment for our citizens.”
Attention now turns to whether the EPA will grant California a
waiver. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said, “The Alliance
remains committed to working with policymakers to make certain that the
EPA’s judgment is based on credible, sound scientific data as to what
policies truly impact California, its citizens and global climate
concerns.”
Lynch said he testified before the EPA at a May hearing to
determine the need for California’s auto emission standards. And on
Friday he said, “EPA’s decision to grant or deny California’s waiver
request is critical to the interests of the State of Rhode Island and
critical to our ability to minimize the impacts associated with climate
change.”
—
With Associated Press reports
efitzpat@projo.com
