WASHINGTON – President Bush said he wants to find a way to begin regulating vehicle emissions, pending any separate legislative approaches. The new rules will “cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles,” he said.
Bush’s announcement Monday was in response to a Supreme Court ruling by ordering federal agencies to move ahead with the endeavor by the time Bush leaves office.
But the Bush executive order telling several agencies to finish the work by 2008 also said they must take into account the views of the general public, the effect the new rules would have on safety, scientific knowledge, available technology and the cost.
Bush’s term ends Jan. 20, 2009.
“This is a complex legal and technical matter and it’s going to take time to fully resolve,” he said.
There were few details immediately available about how the rules might look.
Last month, the Supreme Court rebuked the Bush administration for its inaction on global warming. In a 5-4 decision, it declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and thus can be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The court also said the EPA must regulate carbon dioxide, the leading gas linked to global warming, if it finds that it endangers public health.
In his State of the Union address in January, Bush set a goal of reducing gas consumption by 20 percent over 10 years. Under his plan, this would be accomplished by increasing the use of alternative fuels to 35 billion gallons by 2017 and boosting fuel efficiency standards in new vehicles.
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