The road ahead for clean cars - Environment Rhode Island

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Environment Rhode Island Report
This newsletter is sent to Environment Rhode Island members three times a year by Environment Rhode Island.

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The Clean Cars Program already in place in Rhode Island and 11 other states would reduce global warming emissions by the equivalent of taking 74 million of today’s cars off the road for an entire year, according to research from the Environment Rhode Island Research & Policy Center. The new research was released as U.S. EPA held a public hearing on a petition to implement the program. The hearing came after a delay that essentially blocked implementation of the standards in California and Rhode Island.

“If you genuinely want to address an issue as critical and as real as global warming, you don’t organize a tea party at the 11th hour to discuss it,” said Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, who joined Environment Rhode Island at the public hearing to deliver his opinion to the EPA.

Go to our newsroom to get the latest.

Rhode Island’s Clean Cars Program is in danger of national preemption.

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Our recent report, "The Clean Cars Program: How States Are Driving Cuts in Global Warming Pollution," sheds some light on the value of the clean cars program.

We found the global warming reductions benefit are very significant.

• The 12 states that have adopted the Clean Cars Program will cut global warming pollution from cars, light trucks and SUVs by 74 million metric tons per year in 2020.

• The cumulative global warming emission reduction from the program between
2009 and 2020 is 392 million metric tons, the equivalent to taking 74 million of today’s cars off the road for an entire year.

• Adoption by six additional states that are considering the policy would increase the
total emission reduction to 100 million metric tons per year in 2020 and cumulative reductions to 536 million metric tons.

The Clean Cars Program will also reduce gasoline consumption and save money for consumers.

• The standards could reduce gasoline consumption by as much as 8.3 billion gallons per year in 2020—as much as is consumed by all the vehicles in Florida in a year.

• Consumers could save up to $25.8 billion annually at the pump in 2020.

• If six more states adopt the Clean Cars Program, gasoline consumption could drop by a total of 11.2 billion gallons in 2020, saving $34.7 billion for consumers at the pump.