DC just took an important step to help the Chesapeake Region get closer to a clean energy future. The Clean Cars Act, a bill similar to the one of the same name that was passed in Maryland last year, became law today. This bill will regulate carbon dioxide emissions from all cars registered in the District beginning in 2011 and ensures that DC will greatly reduce its contribution to global warming.
Send a Thank You email to Mayor Adrian Fenty. We couldn’t have done it without his leadership getting this bill through the council.
The bill addresses automobile pollution that greatly contributes to global warming and human health problems such as asthma while also strengthening the current standards for automobile emissions that form smog and carcinogens like benzene. It also adds carbon dioxide – the leading cause of global warming – to the list of regulated automobile pollutants, and requires that a small percentage of new cars sold each year are advanced technology vehicles such as hybrids.
The District joins 18 other states, including Maryland, in adopting California’s stricter tailpipe emissions standards.
The bill does not call for radical vehicle changes. It is designed instead to tap existing technologies to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide
