The Road To Clean aiR - LA Differentiated

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Obama proposes national
limits on greenhouse gas
pollution from automobiles
In September the Obama administration released
details of its proposed national tailpipe emission
standards that would increase fuel economy and
reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from
passenger cars and light trucks.
The proposed standards will raise fuel efficiency for
all vehicles to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016—an
eight-mpg increase from previous standards.
“That is the equivalent of taking 58 million cars off
the road for an entire year,” said President Obama
at a White House press conference in May 2009.
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and U.S. Transportation
Department, the new standards would cut global
warming pollution from vehicles by 30%.
The new standards will also save 1.8 billion barrels
of oil, which is more than the United States
imported from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya and
Nigeria last year alone. This will help reduce the
nation’s dependency on foreign oil while saving
drivers money at the pump.
A longtime advocate for tougher automobile
emission standards, CCA was one of the original
co-sponsors of the 2002 California Clean Cars
Law (AB 1493, Pavley), which required automobile
manufacturers to reduce global warming pollution
from their new vehicles. In 2009 Obama
announced his intention to adopt a nationwide rule
modeled after AB 1493.
CCA appluaded the news that the Obama
administration would move forward with this
landmark plan. It could not have happened
without the leadership of California and the 13
other states that adopted the Clean Cars Law. The
announcement was directly linked to the historic
right of states to adopt their own air pollution
standards. As Congress struggles to pass a federal
climate and energy bill, this rule moves the
country forward.
2002: CCA sponsored
and helped pass the
“Pavley” bill (AB 1493)
in California. It was
the first law in the
nation to address
GHGs emitted in auto
exhaust, and it served
as a model for the U.S.
EPA’s 2009 standards.
CCA averts budget cuts from
vehicle technology plan
Passed in 2007, AB 118 (Núñez) established
an advisory committee to help determine fund
allocation for developing and deploying clean
transportation technologies and fuels to assist
in meeting California’s GHG reduction targets
under AB 32. CCA was honored to have staff
representation on this committee, which spent the
subsequent year finalizing a plan to fund a variety
of alternative fuel projects.
CCA celebrates this exciting step for our growing
clean energy economy, the jobs it will create and
the air quality improvements it will foster. The
proposed national standards will bring consumers
the cars we demand while reducing harmful
GHG emissions.
2009: CCA staff joins EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
at the White House press conference, where President
Obama outlined the new emissions standards.
In 2009 the legislature proposed eliminating
part of the plan: a $40 million hydrogen
infrastructure allocation which would have
met the fueling demand of 50,000 vehicles
by 2017. Through phone calls and meetings
with legislators, testimony at committee
hearings, letters of support with our allies, and
conversations with key stakeholders, CCA
played a critical role in successfully persuading
the legislature to restore this funding for
hydrogen infrastructure development.
Coalition for Clean Air
24
2009 Annual Report