AUGUSTA — The federal government announced April 1 that it has set in place a cornerstone of a federal climate program by finalizing national motor vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits. The measure is the first federal action to reduce GHG emissions and will lower 21 percent of passenger car GHG emissions from the U.S. vehicle fleet by 2030. Transportation is the fastest growing source of GHG emissions, accounting for 47 percent of the net increase in total U.S. GHG emissions from 1990-2006.
“In general, light-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately one-third of Maine’s total GHG emissions. Today’s federal action is the outcome of California’s 2004 regulation to reduce GHG emissions from new cars that subsequently was adopted by Maine and 13 other states and the District of Columbia. Today’s action would not have occurred but for state leadership in developing stringent motor vehicle GHG emissions standards,” said Air Quality Director James Brooks of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. “Maine applauds the administration’s bold action to reduce GHG emissions from motor vehicles.”
The careful balance between state and federal authority over vehicle emissions standards crafted by Congress is central to the success of the announcement. It shows that the Clean Air Act is a workable and effective mechanism for sharing state and federal authority to reduce GHGs.
A study by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) — a regional association of the air pollution control programs of eight Northeast states — found that the California motor vehicle GHG standards upon which the federal standards are based can be met using technologies already in the marketplace. In addition, due to fuel savings over their lifetime, low GHG-emitting vehicles will save consumers money. Also, Maine is working with other states in the Northeast to consider the role of a low carbon fuel standard for achieving even greater reductions in transportation-related GHG emissions.
