Thirteen governors from across the United States today sent a letter to six automotive corporations asking the industry to support the governors’ commitment to address climate change. The corporations are General Motors, Chrysler, American Honda, Ford, Toyota, and Nissan.
“The public is demanding that states, in the absence of federal action, take real and meaningful steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases,” the governors wrote in the letter. “Ensuring that our automobiles have a lower carbon footprint is an essential piece of our greenhouse gas reduction strategy.”
The letter went further to explain that the United States passenger vehicle/light duty truck sector is second only to the electricity sector in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. California was the first state to adopt clean tailpipe standards, followed by 11 other states, leading to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 74 million metric tons by 2020.
The 13 governors asked the automotive leaders to withdraw the legal challenges to clean vehicle standards and work with the states to reverse the threat of global warming. “We do not believe it is productive for your industry to continue to fight state implementation of clean tailpipe standards,” the governors said. “We would prefer to follow a path that encourages innovation not litigation.”
“Your companies are on record as supporting efforts to combat climate change,” remarked the governors. “Selling cars that meet the clean car standards is a major step in fulfilling your commitment. It is time for us to work together to reduce the transportation sector’s contributions to global warming in our states and provinces.”
States involved include: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington. Five Canadian provinces have also committed to adopting these standards.
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