As of 2007, Minnesota has a goal in state law to reduce global warming emissions 30 percent by 2025. Since it is no longer a question of If or When but How, considerable attention has been paid to the recommendations of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) to Governor Pawlenty. Among the top items of the group’s recommendations is a Cleaner Cars policy—legislation that will make motor vehicles cleaner, safer, and healthier.

Cleaner Cars
Legislation will decrease emissions, costs

The Cleaner Cars legislation requires car manufacturers to lower global warming pollutants from new passenger vehicles—using off-the-shelf technology available today—30 percent by 2016. The potential impact is huge; with this legislation, Minnesota would reduce global warming pollution more than 13 million metric tons by 2025, with a net savings for the state of over $260 million.

As cars get cleaner, will they get more expensive? Possibly, but despite the potential of a slight increase in the purchase cost of some vehicles, this law would result in a net savings to consumers through fuel savings. According to a California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimate, (PDF) the additional cost for a new vehicle in model year 2016 will be approximately $1,000. To determine the net impact on consumers, CARB calculated the increase in monthly loan payments versus the savings from reduced fuel consumption. Under Cleaner Cars legislation, consumers would achieve a net savings of approximately $3.50-$7.00/month. And as fuel prices rise, the more drivers save.

California law stuck in traffic
States sue for right-of-way

Minnesota’s Cleaner Cars legislation is based on the same policy adopted in California…where it faces a bit of legal controversy. California has authority under the Clean Air Act to set these tougher standards for vehicle emissions, but it must have a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do so. Once the waiver is granted, other states can implement the California standards.

Breaking decades of precedent, EPA denied the waiver. In response, California has filed a lawsuit. To date, a total of 19 states have joined the lawsuit to preserve states’ ability to regulate vehicle emissions. Twelve states have already adopted Cleaner Cars standards, and many others are actively considering similar proposals (see map below).

Automakers get to choose
Flexible policy rewards innovation

Despite claims that the increased fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards in the 2007 federal energy bill are enough to do the job, careful analysis of the two policies (PDF) shows that the Cleaner Cars policy is more aggressive and would reduce global warming pollution from vehicles twice as much as the federal CAFE standard by 2016. And as the federal law deals only with fuel efficiency, Cleaner Cars is an important complementary policy with greater flexibility for meeting vehicle emissions standards with varying technologies.

Under this law, bundling existing technologies such as advanced power steering, direct injection, improved air-conditioning systems and compatibility with alternative fuels (such as E85) provide a substantial decrease in global warming emissions and other air pollutants. Last year’s Supreme Court decision on the Cleaner Cars policy in Vermont ruled that car companies can get closer toward meeting their emissions reduction goals if they can demonstrate that their flex-fuel vehicle fleet operates on E85.

Automakers can choose to implement any combination of technologies across their passenger vehicle fleet as long as they achieve the prescribed global warming pollution reductions each year.

Fresh Energy is a nonprofit organization leading the transition to a clean energy system. One that supports the health of our economies, our communities, and our environment while moving us toward energy independence. www.fresh-energy.org