Gov. Gregoire praises lawsuit challenging Bush Administration on global warming

For Immediate Release: January 2, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced the state of Washington has joined several other states in opposing a decision by the Bush Administration that restricts states� rights to control automobile emissions and fight global warming.

Washington joined 15 other states in filing a joint motion to intervene in support of California�s lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). California filed its lawsuit today in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

�I�m proud that Washington is leading the way in the fight against global warming,� Gov. Gregoire said. �If the Bush Administration and the EPA won�t take the issue seriously, states must be allowed to combat climate change with all the tools available to us.�

At issue is an EPA decision Dec. 19 to deny a request by California to waive certain less-stringent standards of EPA regarding automobile tailpipe emissions of both air toxins and greenhouse gases (CO2). Washington is one of 16 states that have adopted the California clean car standards, which would mean the equivalent of eliminating 690,000 cars from Washington�s roads in 2020. California standards would start two years sooner than federal standards, and be fully phased in four years sooner.

The Washington State Department of Ecology estimates that by having California clean car standards instead of federal standards, Washington will see CO2 emission reductions of about 4.3 million metric tons in 2020. Under the federal standards, the state would see reductions of only 2.6 million metric tons in 2020.

�As I have said many times, Washington cannot wait for permission to do the right thing for our state�s environment and future generations,� Gov. Gregoire said. �It is our responsibility to challenge this ill-conceived decision by the Bush Administration and move Washington towards a more sustainable future.�

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