AUGUSTA- Today, the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) approved global warming emission standards for vehicles, putting in place one of the largest single policies to curb global warming pollution. Vehicle global warming emission standards are the next step in the strong emissions control program used in Maine and eight other states a round the country, including VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, CA, OR, and WA.

“We applaud the Board’s decision to address the largest single source of global warming pollution in Maine,” said Matthew Davis of the Environment Maine Research & Policy Center. “This program will halt the upward trend in global warming emissions from cars.”

According to A Climate Action Plan for Maine, the analysis of policies to reduce global warming pollution drafted by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and stakeholders last year, enacting vehicle global warming emission standards is the second biggest potential reductions in the state’s contribution to global warming. The Plan also calculated that global warming emission standards for cars would save Maine $48 per ton of CO2 reduced, ranking as the seventh most cost effective policy. With gasoline prices higher than when the report was written, the savings per ton for the emission standards is likely much greater.

According to the California Air Resources Board, the average retail price increase for passenger cars and light trucks meeting the 2012 standard is $367 and $1064 for the 2016 standard compared to the 2009 baseline vehicle. For large trucks and SUVs the average price increase is estimated at $277 in 2012 and $1029 in 2016. Despite this increase in sticker price, consumers will save money over the life of the vehicle because of reduced operating costs. These vehicles’ increased efficiency, which will likely be a co-benefit of reductions in global warming pollution, will mean car owners spend less money at the pump and fill up less frequently.

“The technology is here, although some automakers keep dragging their feet. We’re glad the Board listened to reason and not to autos’ hollow threats of economic meltdown,” said Davis.

As part of the rulemaking process, the Environment Maine Research & Policy Center submitted a report, entitled “Ready To Roll. Environment Maine Research & Policy Center’s report details various technologies currently available for gasoline vehicles and the even more efficient hybrid gas-electric vehicles that will enable manufacturers to meet the global warming emission standards. According to the report, the current generation of hybrid-electric vehicles—such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic—are approximately 90 percent cleaner than the average vehicle in Maine today and are approximately 30 percent more efficient at using gasoline. Consumers are buying cleaner cars, and faster than they can be shipped to Maine. Auto dealers in Maine report that they have waiting lists for certain gas-electric hybrids between 6 and 12 months long.

In addition to the availability of seven hybrid vehicles, the report concluded that conventional gasoline vehicles can cut global warming emissions with a host of available technology. These specific technologies include:

• variable valve timing, installed in most Toyotas and the Ford F-150, which improves air/gasoline mix for better combustion by permitting different valve compression times;
• cylinder deactivation, used in Dodge Hemi v8 and GM Vortec v8 engines, which allows half of the cylinders to stop firing when the engine is not accelerating;
• turbocharged engines, mounted in most Saabs, Volvos and some Chryslers, which enable drivers to get better performance and acceleration out of smaller engines;
• five- or six-speed automatic transmissions, in most Audis and some BMWs and Chryslers, which have more gearing choices, allowing the engine to work closer to its optimal speed;
• continuously variable transmissions, in the Saturn Ion and Vue, and Nissan Murano, which provide infinite choices of speeds, allowing the engine to always work near its optimal speed;
• automatic shift manual transmissions, available in most Subarus, which eliminate the loss of energy from mechanically shifting gears as you would in a standard manual transmission;
• integrated starter generators, in all hybrids and the GM Silverado and Sierra, which can start the engine instantaneously so the engine does not have to idle when the car is stopped;
• 42 volt electrical systems, available in the Toyota Crown Royal and most hybrids, which run integrated starter generators and reduce engine load from air conditioners and other systems;
• low-leakage air conditioning units, which eliminate leakage of refrigerants such as HFC-134a, thought to be 1000 times more potent a global warming gas than carbon dioxide.

To meet the standards of reducing emissions by about 22 percent by 2012, a car manufacturer might only have to install two or three of the technologies listed above.

“Despite the availability of the global warming pollution-reducing technology, agreements with other countries to reduce emissions and widespread public popularity of cleaner vehicles, most automakers are fighting laws that would push them to clean their fleet,” said Davis. “I’d guess that automakers will try anything to delay this forward-looking rule.”

Environment Maine Research & Policy Center investigates environmental problems facing Maine, analyzes policy solutions, and educates and engages Mainers around the solutions.