Car Makers Must Reduce Greenhouse Gas Pollution

A federal district court in Vermont ruled this morning that automakers must comply with a state law that limits automobile greenhouse gas emissions, according to Friends of Earth, which has been monitoring the case. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court decided a landmark decision that upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

The EPA has yet to respond to the court's mandate and decide whether to grant California's request to regulate the greenhouse gas. Meanwhile several states are poised to follow California's lead. The Vermont case -- in which a judge decided that California law is not preempted by federal standards -- is very similar to a case pending in California.

The crux of the opposing argument is that the Department of Transportation has the authority to set fuel economy standards, and requiring emissions cuts will most likely mean an improvement of fuel economy. “Today's ruling is a major victory in the fight against global warming," Danielle Fugere, a Friends of Earth counsel working on the California case, said. "What we''re seeing is an affirmation that if the federal government won''t act on global warming, the states will take action and they have the legal authority to do so."

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