Environmental and Energy Study Institute

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) held a Congressional briefing on transportation strategies to comply with California ’s new law, the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), that requires statewide greenhouse gas emissions to return to 1990 levels by 2020. Like the rest of the nation, California’s transportation is 96 percent reliant on oil, and transportation contributes 40 percent of the state’s global warming pollution. Meeting the law’s requirement requires a comprehensive strategy to improve petroleum-fueled vehicles, reduce travel demand, and a switch to low carbon fuels.

The Leadership of the 110th Congress has said that addressing oil dependence and climate change are legislative priorities. The California standard provides an important blueprint for the national development of a comprehensive strategy to reduce global warming pollution that enhances national and economic security, by substantially reducing global petroleum consumption from transportation. Our speakers discussed key strategies including California ’s landmark Clean Cars Law (AB 1493, Pavley), including the recently announced Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Speakers for this event included:

• Roland Hwang, Vehicles Policy Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
  Presentation (pdf format)
• Alex Farrell, Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
• Dan Sperling, Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California
  Davis Farrell/Sperling Joint Presentation (pdf format)

Audio Recording of Briefing and Q&A

Click below to download additional resources from this briefing:
White Paper: The Role of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Protecting Our Economy
State Of The State 2007: Low Carbon Fuel Standard

For more information, contact Amy Sauer at asauer [at] eesi.org or (202) 662-1892.

Please click here to subscribe to our e-mailing list for event notices and newsletters.