Washington, DC — In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are pollutants under the Clean Air Act in Massachusetts v. EPA. Since then, the EPA has been legally required to make a determination as to whether carbon dioxide and other GHGs endanger public health and welfare and take appropriate regulatory steps pursuant to that determination. Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) President Ned Helme released the following statement today in response to the EPA making that determination: 

“CCAP applauds EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for moving quickly to determine that GHG emissions endanger human health and welfare and contribute to climate change. In making this ‘endangerment finding,’ Administrator Jackson took an important step toward reducing dangerous GHG emissions in the United States and has sent a signal that the Obama Administration is intent on using all the tools available to address climate change. 

“The Obama administration will need to begin applying the Clean Air Act to reduce GHG emissions before new national climate legislation is on the books. Some approaches can better target cost-effective mitigation options than others — including actions that would complement a carbon price.  But as a whole, options available under the Clean Air Act will likely be less cost-effective for reducing GHG emissions than new legislation. As such, the EPA should carefully craft regulations under the Act to reduce GHG emissions without causing unnecessary economic harm.  A good approach would be to regulate CO2 via national performance standards for power plants and cars, particularly if compliance could be designed to include emissions trading.  Further, we need a thorough and careful look at which provisions of the Act should remain, be modified or made inapplicable to GHG emissions as part of new national legislation to regulate GHGs. 

“The Obama administration is showing that it is serious about climate policy by moving forward with regulation of GHGs under current law. Today’s action will help signal to the international community in advance of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen that the U.S. is intent on making needed emissions reductions in concert with other leading nations. At the same time, this finding increases the pressure for Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation that can achieve deeper reductions at a lower cost than what can be done under the Clean Air Act.”

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Note to the editor and staff writers: On April 10, 2009, CCAP released a new paper titled “A Pragmatic Approach to Regulating GHGs under the Clean Air Act.”  In light of EPA making a positive endangerment finding, this report poses the next important question: what regulations will be implemented to control the pollution? The report distinguishes between provisions under the Clean Air Act that could reduce GHG emissions cost-effectively versus those that are hampered by the differences between carbon dioxide and other pollutants regulated under the Act. The report provides a "reader's guide" to some of the issues involved.