Obama praised over Calif. waiver

President Obama on Monday directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider allowing California and other states to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes.

Spokesmen for environmental groups spent a busy day praising the action, with this response from the National Wildlife Federation fairly typical: “This is a distinct call to action, driven by facts of a warming planet and an economy in crisis,” group president and CEO Larry Schweiger said.

{mosads}In announcing his decision, Obama praised the actions taken by California and 13 other states to cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, and criticized Washington for standing in the way.

The direction, though, doesn’t automatically allow California and other states that have embraced the policy from implementing its new carbon controls. The EPA still must review a request from California before allowing it and the other states to proceed.

The Bush administration rejected the waiver. The EPA is widely anticipated to approve the waiver under the Obama administration.

Auto lobbyists said they would continue to work with the administration in hopes of crafting a compromise that would provide them a single regulatory framework to operate under but would also impose new emissions standards, which they previously have opposed.

In a statement, General Motors said: “We’re ready to engage the Obama administration and the Congress on policies that support meaningful and workable solutions and targets that benefit consumers from coast to coast.”

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents domestic and foreign car makers, reiterated its support for a “nationwide program that bridges state and federal concerns and moves all stakeholders forward, and we are ready to work with the administration on developing a national approach.”

The Institute for Energy Research, meanwhile, said allowing the states to regulate carbon emissions from tailpipes amounts to a $1,050 tax on new cars for not much good. If every car and truck in the United States were forced to comply with the standard, emission increases from the rest of the world would more than replace the reductions from the new regulation by June of this year, according to IER.

Obama also directed the Transportation Department to begin writing rules for higher fuel mileage standards for cars and trucks.