Riding the clean-car corridor
In May, Washington became the ninth U.S. state to adopt vehicle tailpipe standards that are tougher than the federal government’s. Washington’s action comes weeks after Canadian officials announced a voluntary agreement with automakers to meet similar standards, and Oregon’s governor strongly suggested that his state move in the same direction. If Oregon adopts the rules, low-emission vehicles (LEVs) could soon make up as much as 35% of the North American car market, advocates say.
California’s LEV standards (LEV-II) call on the auto industry to produce low-, ultralow-, and zero-emission vehicles that significantly cut back on emissions of volatile organic compounds and NOx. Perhaps more controversial is California’s update of its LEV-II in September 2004 with the so-called Pavley standards, which address greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, and CO2. Once California’s standards are in place, which the state Air Resources Board expects with the 2009 model year, the other states that use the California emission standards will adopt the Pavley rules.
U.S. automakers strongly oppose the recently updated California standards to control GHGs. The rules will add as much as $3000 to a car’s price without providing any safety or environmental benefits, says Eron Shosteck, communications director of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The industry filed a lawsuit asking that the Pavley standards be withdrawn, and the Bush Administration supports the carmakers. However, the industry already sells cars in California that can meet the first phase of the rules. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) noted that gasoline savings would offset any possible increase in purchase cost. “Washington residents are expected to save $263 million in reduced energy and emission-testing costs,” Gregoire says.
LEV supporters are delighting in what they call “the creation of a clean-car corridor” along the Pacific coast. K. C. Golden, the policy director of Climate Solutions, an advocacy group in Washington, says the bottom line is that consumers in the coastal western states want LEVs because they are worried about poor air quality and global warming. “I think this sends out a very strong statement about fuel prices and oil markets,” Golden adds.
Efforts to get a bill through the Oregon legislature have failed, but Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) recently said he would create a task force to consider the effect these standards would have, according to spokesperson Anna Richter Taylor.
