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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Phone: (202) 588-1000

Obama Administration Wise to Uphold California's Right to Regulate Vehicle Emissions

Statement of Lena Pons, Policy Analyst, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division*

WASHINGTON

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement today that
it will allow California to enforce greenhouse gas emissions standards
for motor vehicles is a major step forward in combating global climate
change. California passed its standards in 2005 but could not enforce
them until today's decision.

The decision rightly reverses a Bush administration order to block
the California standards and resolves years of legal challenges
including a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established carbon
dioxide as an air pollutant and several lawsuits brought by automakers.
It allows California, 13 states and the District of Columbia to achieve
greenhouse gas reductions from motor vehicles at a faster pace than
those required by the new federal fuel economy standards for model year
2011.

We applaud the early action of California and other states. These
efforts demonstrate states' effectiveness as laboratories for
innovative policy on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from motor
vehicles.

Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.

(202) 588-1000