Sierra Club May Force Automakers to Deepen Cuts in Fuel, Carbon
July 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Sierra Club is on the verge of forcing automakers to raise U.S. vehicle fuel economy 22 percent more than Congress ordered last December.
California and 13 other states are set to impose the first U.S. limits on vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide, linked to global warming. While the Bush administration has put the rules on hold, the two presidential candidates, Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain, say they would clear the states to put them into effect.
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the level set by California would raise average fuel economy to about 43 miles per gallon by 2020, according to the California Air Resources Board, the state's emissions regulator. Automakers' costs would jump $13 billion a year starting in 2016, when the rules would take full effect, based on an industry-commissioned analysis.
``If the states win, the country will import significantly less fuel and there will be significantly less greenhouse gas emissions,'' says Lee Schipper, emeritus senior associate at the World Resources Institute's Center for Sustainable Transport. People ``will look back and thank the big states for taking the lead in the absence of leadership from Washington.''
Congress voted last year to raise average fuel economy to 35 mpg from the 27.5 mpg in effect since 1985. While that would have the effect of lowering carbon dioxide emissions, the California standard would result in a 40 percent greater reduction, according to the state clean-air board.
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