statement
CLEAR ACT Drives Demand for Hybrid, Fuel Cell, and
Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Alternative Fuels
Statement by David Friedman, Research Director, UCS Clean Vehicles Program on April 28, 2005
"For thirty years the auto industry and the scientific and environmental communities have been wrangling over how to make cars and trucks cleaner and more fuel-efficient. While differences remain, today we are excited to stand in support of important legislation that will help drive the market towards cleaner vehicles for today's drivers.
"Thus, it is with great enthusiasm that the Union of Concerned Scientists and our more than 100,000 members across the country applaud Senators Hatch, Rockefeller, Jeffords, Ensign, and Leiberman. We are proud to support the CLEAR ACT with such a unique coalition, including Ford, Honda, and Toyota; representatives of the alternative fuel industry; and national environmental groups.
"Consumer incentives for greener cars, trucks and fuels are one of the important steps we must take to avoid a future filled with rising oil dependency, soaring gas prices, global warming, and other types of air pollution. Every minute of 2004 we sent $250,000 dollars to other countries just to purchase petroleum products—this represented nearly one-quarter of last year’s trade deficit. This year, our spending on oil imports has nearly doubled. Heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. autos are so high that at 1.3 billion tons a year, only four countries in the world produce more CO2 emissions from all uses of fossil fuels than are emitted from U.S. cars and trucks alone.
"The performance-based approach taken by the CLEAR ACT rewards vehicles and fuels based on their contribution to reducing oil use, improving technology, and lowering emissions. This bill sends consumers a clear market signal that they should take the patriotic step of choosing some of the cleanest and most efficient vehicles and fuels on the market. This will help drive up production volumes, thereby reducing costs for consumers and ensuring a market for manufacturers. While this bill alone will not solve our oil and pollution problems, it is an important step in the right direction and should be enacted by Congress immediately.
"The automakers’ engineering ingenuity has provided the potential for clean, efficient cars and trucks. The proposed tax incentives in this bill can turn this potential into reality."
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