update
Clean Vehicles Update - 12/2004
Contents:
1. Summary
2. California climate change
3. School bus clean-up
4. Clean Vehicle Incentives
5. Fuel economy
6. California diesel victories
Summary
In 2004, clean vehicles issues inched forward on the federal level but California became a major battleground. While we were able to continue funding for a national clean school bus grant program, concrete action in Congress was mostly stymied. Hybrid tax credits received a short-term federal boost, and federal rules on fuel economy brought significant citizen action. However, California continued to be a focal point. California enacted national precedent-setting global warming regulations on automobiles, but just this week they came under threat from Automaker lawsuits. Additionally, California enacted several other innovative clean vehicle programs.
California climate change
Perhaps the most exciting victory for clean vehicles and the environment in 2004 was California’s adoption of precedent-setting regulations on global warming emissions from automobiles. According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the average reduction of greenhouse gases from new California cars and light trucks will be about 22 percent in 2012 and about 30 percent in 2016, compared to today's vehicles. Costs for the added technology needed to meet the rule are expected to average about $325 per vehicle in 2012 and about $1050 per vehicle to comply in 2016. CARB staff analysis concludes that lower operating expenses will more than offset the added technology costs of the new vehicles. Due to provisions in the federal Clean Air Act, other states have the ability to adopt California’s standards, a major benefit given federal movement on climate change appears stymied by this administration. Eight states are poised to adopt the California global warming standard, and Canada is already looking into adopting complimentary regulations for its market.
Even before this legislation passed into law, automakers had been engaged in orchestrated public relations efforts and threats of lawsuits in order to undermine these regulations. Now the automakers have made good on their threats, using their coalition front-group, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, to file suit against the people of California. Currently, only Honda among the major automakers has not yet decided to join in the lawsuit. UCS has launched its Automakers v. The People campaign to allow consumers across the country to contact the automakers and let them know they cannot “spin and sue” with impunity. Along with our other campaign allies, we have already tallied nearly 50,000 citizen statements, proving once again that a huge clean car market exists if only automakers would use their engineers rather than their lawyers to give consumers clean car choices. Please add your voice if you have not already done so—we need to help California and other states stand firm against the bullying tactics of the industry.
Clean school buses
Our efforts to bring the nation a comprehensive Clean School Bus grant program was a roller-coaster ride in 2004. After our grant program authorizing language was adopted, but stymied, in the comprehensive Energy Bill, we turned toward a strategy of improving the funding base for the flawed, but serviceable Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administered Clean School Bus USA program. The administration’s $65 million fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget request for a clean school bus replacement and retrofit grant program, gave us hope for a significant funding increase over it’s FY04 $5 million allotment, but it had been trimmed to a mere $10 million by the House appropriations committee. After the August Congressional recess, the Senate VA/HUD appropriations subcommittee chaired by Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) included no funds at all for school bus cleanup in the FY05 EPA budget. In the end, the VA/HUD bill was included in a large omnibus appropriations bill. EPA’s clean school bus program received $7.4 million dollars for FY05. Though it keeps the prospects for school bus cleanup alive it is a disappointing result for such a popular and successful program.
UCS will be redoubling its efforts next year with its coalition partners in Washington and the CleanSchoolBus.org alliance across the nation not only to obtain increased funding from Congress, but to ensure that EPA’s administration of the program ensures the appropriate balance between replacing the oldest and dirtiest buses and retrofitting the new buses to run more cleanly.
Clean vehicle incentives
2004 saw a victory for the hybrid vehicle market. In late September, Congress passed the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004. As part of that measure, Congress restored the alternative-fuel and hybrid vehicle federal income tax deduction to $2,000 for vehicles purchased in calendar years 2004 and 2005. Under current law, the value of the deduction was to have been reduced by 25 percent, to $1,500 this year, and reduced by an additional 25 percent in 2005. Barring additional action, the value of the deduction in 2006 will revert back to only $500, as under current law, and the deduction continues to expire entirely at the end of 2006. Fuel economy 2004 was a tremendous year for citizen activism on important fuel economy rules from the federal government. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and EPA opened public comment dockets for changes to SUV fuel economy, and fuel economy test procedures, respectively. Some 40,000 of the 50,000 comments to NHTSA in favor of removing fuel economy loopholes for SUVs were from activists responding to UCS’ “SUV-TV Challenge” and over 1,000 of you took the time to monitor your vehicle’s fuel economy and send the data to EPA, showing your concern and commitment that the tests be changed to reflect real world conditions. Thank you for your strong support on this crucial issue. Decisions on both of these rules are expected in 2005. California diesel victories New Funding for Important Diesel Clean-up Programs
UCS’s efforts in California to establish funding for diesel clean-up incentive programs paid off this year. Two bills that raise $140 million per year for clean air programs were passed in the state legislature and signed by the governor in 2004. Both the Low Emission School Bus Program and The Carl Moyer Diesel Cleanup Program, which ran out of money in 2004, will benefit from these funds. UCS’s 2004 report Sick of Soot: Reducing the Health Impacts of Diesel Pollution in California found that every dollar spent on the Moyer Program results in over ten dollars in public health cost savings. In the first six years of the program, UCS estimates that over 240 premature deaths caused by diesel pollution have been avoided. The new funding will reduce children’s exposure to diesel pollution on school buses and reduce the public health impacts from diesel pollution across the state. CA Moves Forward with Diesel Risk Reduction Plan
2004 marked a banner year at the California Air Resources Board for implementing regulations to reduce toxic diesel soot emissions. UCS participated in five rulemakings covering everything from cleaner marine and locomotive diesel fuel to stationary and portable diesel generators. Included among the rulemakings was a measure to limit idling from heavy-duty trucks and buses to no more than 5 minutes. This measure is expected to save millions of gallons of diesel fuel, reduce operating costs, and most importantly reduce diesel exhaust in residential neighborhoods. Overall, the five regulations are expected to reduce diesel soot emission by over 800 tons per year by 2010 and prevent an estimated 1,000 premature deaths by 2020.
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