Cars and Climate: What Can EPA Do to Control Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources

摘要

In the 111th Congress, climate change legislation is among the leadership's highest priorities. With the inauguration of President Obama, there is a proponent of greenhouse gas (GHG) legislation in the White House, as well, markedly improving the prospects for enacting some sort of legislation to reduce GHG emissions. The President has said that a new energy, environment, and climate policy will be 'a leading priority of my presidency, and a defining test of our time'. Not all parties are in agreement that controls on GHGs are desirable. Some argue that the science behind climate change is too uncertain; they oppose controls unless, at some future time, more is known about trends in climate variables and the impact of specific pollutants. Others, who agree in principle that the science dictates GHG reductions be made, raise a number of arguments, including issues concerning international commitments and the timing of a control regime. Still others can be expected to raise objections about the form and substance of specific legislative proposals, many of which are among the broadest regulatory measures that Congress has ever considered. Proponents of legislation counter that the threat of climate change is too important for action to be delayed, and that energy-efficiency and lower GHG emissions can be the building blocks of a program to restore the economy as well as to protect the environment.