WASHINGTON -- Arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this week could determine whether the U.S. auto industry will face tougher regulations on cars and trucks because of concerns about global warming.
The court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by a coalition of 12 states, three cities and environmental groups seeking to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider whether it should regulate carbon dioxide from vehicles, which account for 23 percent of the nation's output of the gas.
Carbon dioxide is considered by many scientists to be one of the heat-trapping substances raising temperatures around the globe. It's a byproduct of burning gasoline, so reducing emissions requires higher gasoline mileage from vehicles.
The EPA rejected a similar argument in 2003, saying the Clean Air Act never was meant to address global warming, and that it could not regulate global warming gases from vehicles. Major automakers, including General Motors, Ford, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler, say that the states don't have the right to force the EPA to address global warming and that "scientific uncertainty, regulatory inefficiency, technological infeasibility and foreign policy concerns" all favor no additional rules.
Although legal experts say the Supreme Court may skip the environmental questions in the case for a variety of technical reasons, it highlights the increasing pressure the industry could face from state lawmakers concerned that the federal government isn't doing enough.
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The industry has been locked in a legal battle with the state of California since 2004 over the state's attempt to impose fuel economy standards of up to 40 miles per gallon on some vehicles as a way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The industry says only the federal government has the power to set such rules.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued the six largest automakers in September, seeking millions of dollars in damages for what he said were unlawful contributions to global warming from their vehicles. Some states have sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for not setting high enough fuel economy standards for trucks.
The states, cities and environmental groups in the Supreme Court case say the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to consider carbon dioxide an air pollutant and regulate it accordingly. A court of appeals upheld the EPA's decision last year.
"If we win the case, the EPA goes back and makes a decision based on science and law," said Lisa Heinzerling, one of the lawyers representing the states, cities and the environmental groups.
The government contends that even if it wanted to change the rules, developing new technology and rolling it into the vehicle fleet would likely take two decades before affecting "a tiny percentage reduction in worldwide greenhouse gas."
