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David Pettit, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Southern California Air Program, writes about strategies used in California to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector (summarized below):

California’s low carbon fuel standard (see Is California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Compatible with RFS 2.0?) reduces the carbon intensity of motor vehicle fuel per unit of energy.  The landmark law aims to measure the lifetime GHG emissions of various fuels from “well to wheels” and account for the pollution created by extracting, growing, or refining fuels.

“Another tactic that California is pursuing is restricting tailpipe emissions of CO2,” explains Pettit.  The state’s AB 1493 (the “Pavley Act”) is on its way to reducing global warming emissions from cars in California, and in other states that have adopted similar laws.  The legislation mandates a gradual reduction in global warming pollutants emitted by cars and light trucks sold in California over an eight-year phase in period.

A third way to reduce global warming from the transportation sector is to fund and improve public transit systems so that fewer people need to drive personal vehicles.

Pettit concludes:

Not surprisingly, the auto manufacturers fought AB 1493 in court (and lost) and various industries are fighting the low carbon fuel standard in court.  And we can expect the highway lobby to try to suck up all the transportation dollars it can.

The post is available here.