Decision on US carbon regulation postponed

The already slim chances of meaningful US climate change legislation being implemented before the end of President Bush's term in office receded further last week when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) again delayed a landmark ruling on whether carbon emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Following a legal challenge from a group of 12 US states, the Supreme Court ordered the EPA to rule officially on whether climate change represents a threat to public health and as such means that carbon emissions can be regulated under the existing US Clean Air Act.

However, despite a bombardment of criticism from green groups and state legislators, the EPA has consistently declined to reach a decision and last Friday announced that it was further extending the period of public consultation on the ruling, effectively delaying an official ruling until the next president is in the White House.

Agency administrator Stephen Johnson insisted that the EPA's work so far had raised further questions that needed to be addressed through continued consultation. He also hinted that the decision should not be left to the EPA, telling reporters that it was for elected officials to deliver climate change legislation.

"If our nation is truly serious about regulating greenhouse gases, the Clean Air Act is the wrong tool for the job," he said. "It's really at the feet of Congress to come up with good legislation that will cut through what is likely to be decades of regulation and litigation."

The decision comes amid fresh reports that the White House has put pressure on the EPA to delay any decision that could result in fresh carbon regulation. According to reports in the Washington Post, the administration urged the EPA to use low oil price estimates in its calculations in order to reduce the projected economic benefits that would arise from carbon regulations.