The British Columbia government has filed a legal brief with the District of Columbia Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals supporting California's challenge of the Environmental Protection Agency's denial of a waiver to implement the state's proposed standards for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, provincial Environment Minister Barry Penner announced on November 25th. British Columbia supports the new California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard for Vehicles, and the provincial government introduced legislation in April 2008 to adopt the California standards, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than would the proposed U.S. federal fuel economy standards, Penner said in a statement.

“Higher standards are an important part of British Columbia's goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent [from 2007 levels] by 2020 through lower emissions from new vehicles, while providing choice and savings for consumers,” he said.

Support for the challenge of the EPA's denial of the waiver is part of the province's strong working relationship with California, he said. “In addition to partnering on the California emission standards and the Western Climate Initiative, we've also signed a memorandum of understanding to find solutions to protect Pacific Ocean species from pollution,” he said.

Penner noted that 17 U.S. states have adopted or are adopting the California model for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, and six other states are actively considering doing so. Nine of 10 Canadian provinces and all three territories have committed to adopting the California standards, and Quebec is making final revisions to draft regulations to adopt them, he said.

Source:Carlines2008-6.45
VECC December 25, 2008