Group to Obama: regulate carbon, aim for 200-mpg cars

On his first full day as president of the US, Barack Obama is receiving some climate change advice from the Sustainable Energy Network: Start tackling the problem today.

A loose affiliation of 600-plus companies, groups and individuals, the Sustainable Energy Network outlined its recommendations for immediate action in a press release, urging Obama to:

• Direct the Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. “This effectively should lead to a national cap on global warming emissions consistent with what science says is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.”
• Reverse the Bush administration’s decision prohibiting California from setting stricter-than-federal standards for carbon emissions from vehicles.
• Require the federal government to adopt fuel economy standards similar to the ones California had sought.
• Raise fuel economy standards for cars, light trucks and SUVs to at least 45 miles per gallon (19 kilometers per litre) within the next 15 years, and to 200 miles per gallon (85 kilometers per litre) by 2050.
• Require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by industry.
• Aim for a carbon-neutral federal government.

“The actions we are now proposing … are steps that can be taken administratively by you and the members of the Executive Branch in the first days of your Administration,” the press release stated. “(C)umulatively, they could have a significant impact and begin the process of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global climate change.”