Ben Feller, Associated Press Yahoo News 27 Jan 09;
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama opened an ambitious, double-barreled assault on global warming and U.S. energy woes Monday, moving quickly toward rules requiring cleaner-running cars that guzzle less gas — a must, he said, for "our security, our economy and our planet."
He also vowed to succeed where a long line of predecessors had failed in slowing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Starting his second week in office, Obama took a major step toward allowing California and other states to target greenhouse gases through more stringent auto emission standards, and he ordered new federal rules directing automakers to start making more fuel-efficient cars as required by law.
The auto industry responded warily. Reducing planet-warming emissions is a great idea, carmakers and dealers said, but they expressed deep concern about costly regulations and conflicting state and federal rules at a time when people already are not buying cars. U.S. auto sales plunged 18 percent in 2008.
And industry analysts said the changes could cost consumers thousands of dollars — for smaller, "greener" cars.
Obama on Monday directed the Environmental Protection Agency to review whether California and more than a dozen states should be allowed to impose tougher auto emission standards on carmakers to fight greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush administration had blocked the efforts by the states, which account for about half of the nation's auto sales.
The new president also said his administration would issue new fuel-efficiency requirements to cover 2011 model year vehicles.
Obama acknowledged the worries of automakers but said urgent action was needed nonetheless. He said, "Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry. It is to help America's automakers prepare for the future."
He said that U.S. imports of foreign oil have continued to climb, even as previous presidents pledged to reverse the trend. No more, he said.
"I want to be clear from the beginning of this administration that we have made our choice: America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet," Obama said in the ornate East Room of the White House, where an audience of environmentalists cheered him on.
Underscoring environmental worries, a new report said many damaging effects of climate change are already all but irreversible, sure to last until the year 3000 and beyond. "It's not like air pollution where if we turn off a smokestack, in a few days the air is clear," said Susan Solomon, chief author of the international report and a climate researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.
Showing the early limits of bipartisanship, House Republican leader John Boehner said Obama's reopening of a key California ruling was dangerous. "The effect of this policy will be to destroy American jobs at the very time government leaders should be working together to protect and create them," he said.
Obama's order for an EPA review of California's case could shake up the auto industry — 13 other states and the District of Columbia have adopted California's standards, and others are considering them. If California gets a federal waiver to enact tougher emissions standards, the other states could then sign on.
Also, Obama directed federal transportation officials to get going on new fuel efficiency rules, which will affect cars produced and sold for the 2011 model year. That step was needed to enforce a 2007 energy law, which calls for cars and trucks to be more efficient every year, to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Obama also meant to set a tone with his promises: Science will trump ideology and special interests, attention will stay high even when gas prices fall.
It was a none-too-subtle admonishing of previous administrations, chiefly George W. Bush's.
"It falls on us to choose whether to risk the peril that comes with our current course or to seize the promise of energy independence," Obama said. "And for the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and the commitment to change."
Obama put that peril he mentioned in stark terms. He said dependence on foreign oil "bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism. It puts the American people at the mercy of shifting gas prices, stifles innovation and sets back our ability to compete."
Recent presidential history is littered with grand but broken promises about weaning a gas-guzzling country from foreign oil. As long ago as 1973, Richard Nixon wanted the nation to be energy independent by 1980. The U.S. now imports even a bigger share of its oil than it did then.
This time could be different, said Phyllis Cuttino, director of a global warming campaign for the Pew Environment Group.
"It is very telling that at a time when he's working feverishly to pass an $825 billion stimulus package, he took these concrete steps on day six," she said. "That speaks volumes to his commitment." Environmental advocates, she added, are "all going to be applauding him — and holding his feet to the fire."
Underscoring Obama's attempt to shore up America's environmental credentials, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday appointed a special envoy for climate change.
Going back to Nixon's time, the U.S. imported 36 percent of its oil and refined products, about half coming from the OPEC cartel. During the first 11 months of 2008, imports accounted for nearly 67 percent of the petroleum used each day in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration.
Robert Ebel, an authority on energy policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said public sentiment about the new promises may be, "Here we go again." But Obama, given his popularity, a cooperative leadership on Congress and the nation's desire for a reshaped economy, could have a window.
"The memory of $4 a gallon gasoline is not that old, and the financial crisis is very much in people's minds," he said. "All these things put together will help."
Obama framed his energy plan as steady and pragmatic. Sounding much like President Bush did, he warned that there is no quick fix.
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Associated Press writers Ken Thomas, H. Josef Hebert, Dina Cappiello and Erica Werner contributed to this story.
President Obama announces push to wean US off the gas-guzzler
Times Online 27 Jan 09;
President Obama took the first steps yesterday towards weaning America off its gas-guzzling habits as he told his country and a beleaguered motor industry to show the courage needed to tackle global warming.
In another decisive break with the Bush Administration, he signed executive orders to hasten the introduction of cleaner vehicles for a nation that is the world’s biggest polluter.
“Now is the time to make the tough choices,” he declared.
His White House statement yesterday sought to frame climate change — for so long scorned, ignored or treated as a Cinderella issue by George W. Bush — in the context of economic revival and national security.
“Year after year, decade after decade, we’ve chosen delay over decisive action, rigid ideology has overruled sound science, special interests have overshadowed common sense. For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change,” Mr Obama said. “The days of Washington dragging its heels are over. My Administration will not deny facts. We will be guided by them.”
The President warned that America’s dependence on foreign oil “bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism”. If climate change was left unchecked, “violent conflict, terrible storms, shrinking coastlines and irreversible catastrophe” could result.
Mr Obama ordered the Transportation Department to enforce a 2007 law requiring carmakers to increase fuel-efficiency on models for 2011. He also ordered an urgent review of a policy blocking California and 13 other states from imposing even stricter economy and emissions standards.
Carmakers have lobbied hard to stop such regulations, claiming that they would force them to produce two sets of vehicles or limit sales at a time when companies such as GM and Chrysler already need vast federal bailouts to stave off bankruptcy.
Even as Mr Obama spoke yesterday, GM cut another 2,000 jobs in Ohio and Michigan. The Detroit-based manufacturer has been criticised for concentrating on big 4x4 vehicles and will struggle to increase fuel efficiency from the current average of 27mpg to meet new standards of about 35mpg by 2020. The President said he would take account of the “unique challenges” facing carmakers but added: “We must help them thrive by building the cars of tomorrow.”
Yesterday’s measures were intended as merely the first instalment towards making good campaign promises of cutting US greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent over the next 41 years.
The White House believes that it can create millions of “green-collar jobs”, beginning with an $820 billion (£590 billion) economic stimulus plan that will pay for insulating buildings, funding investment in the renewable energy industry and installing a new national electricity grid.
The EU recognises that it will be difficult for Mr Obama to legislate before the Copenhagen conference this year when the international community hopes to agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. EU diplomats hope he is given a mandate from Congress before difficult talks with China and India, two of the world’s top polluters.
Yesterday, Todd Stern was appointed as US chief envoy for the Copenhagen talks. He performed a similar role during the Kyoto negotiations before the advent of Mr Bush — who refused to submit the treaty for ratification.
CO2 targets
Obama By 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels; by 2050, to reduce emissions by 80 per cent
EU By 2020 to reduce emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels
Bush By 2025 to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions
US greenhouse gas emissions In 1990 were 6,148 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents; by 2006 were 7,054 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents
Obama gives green light for states to set tougher limits on car emissions
US president asks environment agency to review Bush-era decision which put 'rigid ideology over sound science'
Daniel Nasaw, guardian.co.uk 26 Jan 09;
President Barack Obama today announced two broad measures aimed at curtailing America's greenhouse gas emissions and reducing American consumption of imported oil.
In the first steps signalling a major shift in US energy and climate policy from the Bush administration, Obama signed orders urging federal environmental regulators to allow states to set stricter automobile emissions, and increasing the fuel efficiency of American cars.
Obama pointedly criticised the Bush administration for its failure to act and its move to block California and other states from taking their own steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
"Year after year, decade after decade, we've chosen delay over decisive action," he said. "Rigid ideology has overridden sound science."
Obama's order directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider a Bush-administration directive on vehicle fuel emissions. It stopped California, the nation's largest car market, and more than a dozen other states from regulating exhaust emissions linked to global warming more strictly than the federal government. He also directed the US Department of Transportation to issue guidelines which will increase the fuel efficiency of new cars sold in America to an average of 35mpg by 2020, beginning in 2011. The current average is 27.5mpg.
The moves will have a dramatic effect on the nation's car industry, because the vast size of the California market obliges auto manufacturers to redesign product lines to meet the state's standards. But Obama stressed that the moves are intended "not to further burden an already struggling industry" but to push it to "prepare for the future".
The changes are the first part of what is expected to be a broad change in the US government's role in climate policy, and Obama described them as the "first steps on our journey to American energy independence" and a "down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil".
Much of his address was clearly aimed at the US congress, urging it to enact the $850bn economic stimulus package the White House is currently negotiating with congressional leaders.
That legislation will include a massive investment in research and development of renewable energy, which Obama said he hopes will create "millions" of jobs in the new green economy.
Obama's executive decision can be put into effect immediately without the consent of Congress. The rule changes were promised by Obama during his White House campaign.
Obama this morning asked the EPA to reconsider a decision by Bush EPA director Stephen Johnson, who in December 2007 blocked a move by California and 17 other states, representing 45% of the US car market, to limit greenhouse gas emissions by cars and trucks. The block overruled the unanimous recommendation of the agency's legal and scientific staff. Johnson said federal action would curtail emissions better than a "patchwork of state rules". The car industry had fiercely lobbied White House and the EPA to block the California effort regulation. The rejection provoked lawsuits by California and other states and anger from Democrats who said the decision was based on ideology and politics rather than science.
Under the Clean Air Act, California is allowed to regulate emissions more strictly than the federal government, but only if the EPA grants a waiver to do so. Prior to the December 2007 decision, the agency has never before rejected a waiver request.
The EPA's reconsideration could take some time, because it will have to go through the agency's bureaucratic process, but is expected to turn in the states' favour. The proposed restrictions will force the car industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in new cars and light trucks by 2016.
The day after Obama's inauguration, California's Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent Obama a letter urging him to ask the EPA to grant his and other states the authority to regulate emissions.
"Your administration has a unique opportunity to both support the pioneering leadership of these states and move America toward global leadership on addressing climate change," he wrote.
Obama today praised California's "bold and bipartisan leadership", and castigated the Bush administration for standing in the state's way. "The days of Washington dragging its heels are over," he said. "My administration will not deny facts, we will be guided by them".
Also today, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected to name Todd Stern as a special state department envoy on climate change, the Politico website reported. Todd Stern was a top White House official under President Bill Clinton, and was also a senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate talks.
Obama to world: We will lead on climate change
Stephen Collinson Yahoo News 27 Jan 09;
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama Monday vowed to lead the world on climate change as he set about shredding Bush administration policies with new domestic measures to force the development of fuel-efficient cars.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile picked a veteran of the Kyoto Protocol talks as her envoy for climate change, as world leaders target a historic global warming pact this year.
"We will make it clear to the world that America is ready to lead," Obama said, in an apparent swipe at former president George W. Bush's reluctance to take control of international efforts to combat climate change.
"To protect our climate and our collective security, we must call together a truly global coalition," the president said at a White House ceremony.
Obama signed memoranda aimed to prod the struggling US auto industry to design new fuel-efficient vehicles to lessen US dependence on energy sources which he said bankroll dictators, and to spur the US economy.
"The days of Washington dragging its heels are over," Obama said.
"My administration will not deny facts -- we will be guided by them," Obama said, in an apparent dig at Bush aides accused of subverting science for ideological reasons.
Obama required the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider whether to grant California a waiver to regulate car emissions blamed for contributing to global warming.
The Bush administration had blocked efforts by the vast western state and a dozen others to impose their own limits on carbon dioxide gas emissions.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reacted with delight.
"With this announcement from President Obama less than a week into his administration, it is clear that California and the environment now have a strong ally in the White House," he said in a statement.
Obama ordered the Transportation Department to produce guidelines to require US cars to reach average fuel efficiency of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
There was a generally positive reaction from the "Big Three" auto giants, several of which are dependent on government cash to survive.
General Motors said it was "working aggressively on the products and the advance technologies that match the nation's and consumers' priorities to save energy and reduce emissions," and was ready to work with Obama and Congress.
The 11 member Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which includes Ford and Chrysler said it was also ready to work with the administration.
While promising action at home, Obama also made clear he would ask for action from giant developing economies to do more to limit greenhouse gases.
"I've made it clear that we will act, but so too must the world."
"That's how we will deny leverage to dictators and dollars to terrorists, and that's how we will ensure that nations like China and India are doing their part, just as we are now willing to do ours."
Environmentalists praised Obama, after years battling the White House on climate change issues.
"It's a terrific beginning," David Yarnold, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund told AFP.
"It fires the starting gun for millions of new jobs, and amplifying the stimulus package and welding it to environmental benefits -- and it highlights how those issues are inseparable."
Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope welcomed the California move.
"This action deserves the loudest applause, President Obama is making good on campaign promises and sending yet another signal that global warming and clean energy are top priorities for his administration."
In another sharp break from Bush, Clinton picked Todd Stern as her envoy for climate change, a State Department official said.
Stern is a "former Clinton White House official with experience at Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate change negotiations," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Stern took part in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations from 1997 to 1999, before becoming an advisor to the secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001.
Bush rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 dealing a blow to global climate change efforts, warning it would deal damage the US economy.
The Clinton administration agreed the Protocol but the pact was never ratified by the Senate.
