Statement of Jason Barbose
Environment California
Global Warming Advocate
On California’s Lawsuit against U.S. EPA for Failing to Grant Clean
Cars Waiver
Environment California applauds
Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown for their steadfast
commitment to California’s
Clean Cars Standard, and their leadership in pushing forward with real progress
to solve global warming.
Unfortunately, as California
takes action to reduce global warming pollution, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is putting up roadblocks to prevent states from implementing
solutions that will reduce global warming emissions from cars and SUVs. The federal government should not try to
block this kind of progress.
By implementing the Clean Car Standards, California
and the eleven other states that have followed California’s
lead – Connecticut, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Vermont,
and Washington
– will utilize cost-effective and existing technology to reduce global warming
pollution from vehicles. The twelve
state standards will cut global warming emissions from vehicles by 392 million
metric tons by 2020, the equivalent to taking 74 million of today’s cars off
the road for an entire year.
Unfortunately, the U.S. EPA’s failure to give the California the stamp of
approval to put cleaner cars on the road is more than just bureaucratic
delay. It marks a clear decision to
cater to powerful corporate interests instead of protecting the public from
very real risks of climate change.
The U.S. EPA should immediately give California the green light to put clean cars
on the road. Environment California looks forward
to working with Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown to ensure
that this vital solution to global warming is implemented.
