Obama climate chief says ruling on CO2 imminent

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The US administration’s special adviser on climate and energy has told reporters Sunday that the Environment Protection Agency is close to a historic ruling on the regulation of carbon dioxide.

Saying the EPA will find CO2 emissions harmful to the public, Carol Browner said the ruling could result in tougher vehicle emission legislation for the country’s car manufacturers, who are already reeling from the global economic downturn.

The new standard for vehicle emissions could be modelled on more efficient standards applied by California and recently given the green light by the Obama administration. The standards had been vigorously opposed by the car manufacturers and supported by the previous Bush administration.

“EPA’s going to look at Mass. Vs. EPA and will make an endangerment finding,” Browner told Dow Jones Newswires referring to a Supreme Court ruling which ordered the EPA in the Mass. Vs. EPA case to determine if carbon dioxide emissions were bad for the nation’s health.

“The next step is a notice of proposed rulemaking” she said concerning regulations on the emission of carbon dioxide.

The expected raft of legislation on regulation of carbon dioxide emissions would affect not only automakers but also coal-fired power plants, refineries, chemical plants, and cement firms, Dow Jones reported.

“In the next several weeks we will begin to see the shape of legislation…( and) we will work with Congress as they shape it,” the newswire quoted her telling a group of Western Governors.