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8th May 2007

The US auto industry would be unable to comply with the U.S. state of Vermont’s proposed O2 emissions standards, according to an expert witness called in the final week of a trial in which the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (including General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler), and local car dealers and trade associations, are suing Vermont to try to block a mandatory 30% reduction in the CO2 emitted by vehicles, starting in 2009 and becoming stricter through 2016.

Thomas Austin, an automotive industry expert at Sierra Research Inc., testified that, "We still need 12 years from now, we're talking model year 2020," to develop full lines of compliant vehicles.

Vermont is one of 10 U.S. states to call for the sharp reduction in CO2 emissions, following a lead established by California, whose governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently threatened to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it does not soon approve a waiver from federal legislation for California’s CO2 reduction legislation.

(Planet Ark/Reuters, 8 May)

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