The “Governator” and the Car Industry
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said pressure from the car industry will not deter California from attempting to impose strict emission rules for vehicles sold in the state. He met privately with seven car executives who requested the get-together. He told them “the train has left the station” and that they should stop challenging California rules that are intended to help slow the rate of global warming.
Mr Schwarzenegger told members of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers ‘While you’re whining, you should be creating new technologies. That’s how you meet the date.”
California wants emissions to be cut by nearly one-third for all vehicles sold in the state by 2016. That’s four years earlier than similar emission rules proposed by the federal government. Car manufacturers say the California benchmark can’t be met on time, and they have successfully blocked them from taking effect for now.
It is unusual for Mr Schwarzenegger and car executives to meet -they have been at odds for years. The industry sued California in federal court over a 2002 car emissions rule, delaying the tougher standards. Although the state successfully defended the legal challenge, the rules have been blocked by the President George Bush’s administration.
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