Lawmaker urges action on CO2 emissions

By Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Senate Environment Committee on Wednesday said the Bush administration should immediately act to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gases from automobiles, after the Supreme Court affirmed its authority earlier this month.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, said the Environmental Protection Agency should also write new regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions from coal-burning power plants - which emit the lion's share, or 40 percent, of U.S. carbon dioxide. Cars emit about a third of the U.S. total.

In a landmark decision, the top U.S. court ruled this month that the EPA has the authority under the federal Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles.

"The EPA has no excuse anymore," Boxer told reporters at the National Press Club. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson "can do this yesterday," she added.

"Administrator Johnson and the Bush administration take seriously the challenge of global climate change and are discussing actions to address the Supreme Court's decision," agency spokeswoman Jennifer Wood said.

The United States, the world's top emitter of heat-trapping gases, has spent $35 billion on climate change measures since 2001, more than any other nation.

President George W. Bush opposes mandatory limits on emissions, saying they would harm the economy. Instead, Bush has set a goal of reducing the intensity of emissions -- as measured versus economic growth -- by 18 percent by 2012.

According to EPA data released this week, carbon dioxide emissions rose by 16 percent between 1990 and 2005 to 7.26 billion metric tons. The U.S. economy grew by 55 percent over the same period.

Johnson will be in the hot seat on April 24, when he will testify before Boxer's committee.

"I will challenge him to use the power EPA has had all along to address global warming, and has refused to use," Boxer said. "The Supreme Court has left this administration with no excuses for further delay."

Boxer wants to cap and eventually reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with the aim of keeping the Earth's temperature from rising less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius).

But Boxer was mum on when she might call for a full Senate vote on legislation. "Whenever I have the votes for strong global warming bills, I will get them to the Senate floor," she said.

On Thursday, Boxer said she will meet with Senate Democrats including Majority Leader Harry Reid to chart a course on climate change.

Also that day, Sen. Tom Carper, Delaware Democrat, and Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, will introduce the Clean Air Planning Act of 2007, which would put first-ever caps on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.