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Please consider the following Air Resources Board press release
announcing the findings of a new study proving that California's
clean car laws (the Pavley regulations) reduce more greenhouse
gases than federal fuel economy standards.  

Release 08-36
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2008
	  	
Stanley Young
office:(916)322-2990
cell:(916)956-9409
www.arb.ca.gov

Air Resource Board study proves California clean car law is more
effective in fighting global warming than federal fuel economy
standards


SACRAMENTO--The California Air Resources Board today issued a
technical study that conclusively demonstrates that California's
clean cars law (the Pavley regulations) achieves 41 percent
greater total reductions of greenhouse gases nationwide compared
to the recently proposed federal fuel economy standards by 2020.
In 2020, California's clean car law will result in the
equivalent of removing an additional 14 million cars compared to
the federal standards.

"We applaud the federal fuel economy standards. They will help
reduce our use of fossil fuels." said ARB chairman Mary Nichols.
"But they simply do not provide us with adequate protection
against climate change. The California regulation is the only
one that deals directly with greenhouse gases and it stands head
and shoulders above the federal standards. It will ensure that
auto manufacturers provide consumers with cleaner cars using
readily available technology to reduce pollution and fight
global warming."

The new ARB study is based on a comparison of greenhouse gas
reductions from cars and trucks under the California standards
and under the schedule for fuel economy standards proposed for
2011 through 2015 by the National Highway Traffic and Safety
Administration.

The ARB study also demonstrates that:

    * By 2016, California regulations will have prevented a
total of 55 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 from being emitted
into the air in California as compared to 36 MMT under the
proposed federal fuel economy standards - 50 percent more and a
difference of 20 MMT.
    * By 2020, California's rules will have prevented a total of
158 MMT of CO2 from being emitted in California as compared to
106 MMT of CO2 under federal regulations - almost 50 percent
more.
    * If the Pavley rules are implemented in all 50 states, by
2020 a cumulative total of 1283 MMT of CO2 will have been
prevented from being emitted into the air compared to 912 MMT if
only the proposed federal fuel economy standards were
implemented-a difference of 41 percent.
    * If the Pavley rules are implemented in Canada, by 2020 a
cumulative total of 87 MMT of CO2 will have been prevented from
being emitted as compared to 58 MMT of CO2 if only the proposed
federal regulations were implemented. 

The ARB analysis not only demonstrates that the proposed federal
fuel economy standards are not as stringent, but also highlights
the fact that the federal standards were never designed to fight
global warming in the first place. By contrast, the California
standards which are designed to draw upon readily available
automobile technology, are part of a comprehensive approach to
expressly reduce greenhouse gases from cars.

Twenty other states with close to half of all the registered
vehicles in the nation have either formally adopted the
California regulations or are in the process of doing so.
Despite the clear benefits of the California standards, these
states are prevented from enforcing them because the United
States Environmental Protection Agency has refused to grant a
waiver that allows the more stringent tailpipe emissions
standards to take effect. California along with other leadership
states have taken the federal government to court to overturn the
denial of that waiver.

The proposed fuel economy standards issued by the National
Highway Transportation and Safety Administration on April 22
also included language which attempts to re-write existing law
and prevent California (and all states that wished to follow
California) from ever enforcing standards to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions from cars. This prompted a letter from Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger and the governors of eleven other states
expressing their outrage and opposition to the Secretary of
Transportation .

"NHTSA has no authority to preempt states from regulating
greenhouse gases. Congress and two federal district courts have
rejected NHTSA's claim to such authority. Furthermore, this
attack completely undermines the cooperative federalism
principles embodied in the Clean Air Act, and is an end run
around 40 years of precedent under that law. "

The report can be found at http://www.arb.ca.gov.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every
Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy
consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and
cut your energy cost, see our web site at http://www.arb.ca.gov


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