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Four years after the first request from California to allow it to set its own limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally granted a waiver.

The waiver will allow California, and 13 other states which have followed its lead, to enforce its own standards on new motor vehicles starting with this year’s models.

In a swipe at the previous Bush Administration, who denied the original waiver request, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said: “This waiver is consistent with the Clean Air Act as it’s been used for the last 40 years.”

President Barack Obama directed the EPA to reconsider the previous refusal to grant a waiver in January this year, soon after taking office. Last month he also introduced a new national policy aimed at improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions from vehicles.

When the nationwide standards come into force in 2012, California has pledged to recognise automakers who meet these guidelines as compliant with its own.

For further information:
www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/ca-waiver.htm

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