Policy Integrity filed a legal petition with the EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to propose and adopt regulations instituting a cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse gases emissions from fuels used in vehicles. This petition takes aim at emissions from all vehicles, which account for 36% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Based on a detailed legal analysis of the Clean Air Act, the petition argues that under section 211 of the Clean Air Act EPA can create a cap-and-trade system with an auction mechanism to control GHG emissions from fuels used in these transportation sources. The petition asks EPA to exercise its authority to auction permits, and either find an appropriate way to refund revenue to the American public, or work with Congress to create a dividend mechanism.
Policy Integrity also released fact sheets featuring legal background, and how EPA could use cap-and-trade.