Commentary: Gas Cars May Soon Be as Environmentally Friendly as Electric Vehicles

A team of engineers from Michigan State University led by Associate Professor Annick Anctil projects that rising fuel efficiency standards for internal combustion engine (ICEV) vehicles in the U.S. could lower their greenhouse gas emissions to be close to those of electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030.

The analysis, published earlier this year in the Journal of Environmental Management, should give pause to EV-obsessed policymakers doling out lavish tax credits for purchasing EVs and banning the sale of new ICE vehicles. At least twelve states aim to phase out sales of new, gas-powered cars by 2035.

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Leads 24 States Objecting to SEC Requiring Climate Change Disclosures by Businesses

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is leading a coalition of 24 states objecting to proposed rule changes by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) that would require publicly-traded businesses to disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions and discuss climate risks. The coalition filed formal comments indicating the 500-page rule titled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” goes beyond the jurisdiction of the SEC and into environmental regulation. 

In a 44-page letter addressed to the SEC, Brnovich and the others stated that the Biden “administration has tried and failed to impose regulation directly, and it now appears content to use back-door financial regulatory actions to implement its political will.” The coalition warned, “profit will become secondary to political interests, and capitalism will fall by the wayside.” The proposed rule “seeks to make ‘decisions of vast economic and political significance.’” They accused the SEC of “taking on major policy decisions that belong to Congress.” 

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Industry Groups Raise Questions After Study on Gas Stoves

Industry groups and others are pushing back after a study found gas stoves contribute more to global warming than previously thought at a time when some elected officials are considering policies to limit natural gas connections.

The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, found methane that leaks from natural gas stoves in U.S. homes has a climate impact equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from about 500,000 gas-powered cars.

The study also tested emissions from stoves in homes. A Stanford news release that accompanied the study raised concerns about indoor air quality because of the levels of nitrogen oxides.

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Metro Council Passes Resolution Adopting Target of 80 Percent Reduction in Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions from 2014 Levels by 2050

Nashville Metro Council passed a resolution establishing a target of an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 levels by 2050.

Metro Council approved the resolution at its last meeting on Tuesday and Mayor John Cooper added his stamp of approval the following day.

The goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions is part of Cooper’s Sustainability Advisory Committee Report on the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County’s Climate Change Mitigation Action Plan that was issued in 2021. The report recommends that Davidson adhere to the Paris Climate agreement goal of limiting average global temperature rise to no higher than 2ºC “above preindustrial levels.”

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