The Obama administration has more or less repealed an earlier stance of the Bush administration. From now on CO2 emissions will be regulated state to state. This means that it is up to individual states as to what emission standards they would like to enact. Some of the states that you may see tougher regulations are California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Washington.
What do these tighter restrictions on CO2 mean for pollution, what does it mean for the auto industry and what does it mean for our pocket books? The majority of the stricter laws will go into effect for at least a year; it will have a positive effect on the amount of pollution that cars emit. This is helpful for large urban areas with a lot of cars.
What this means on the auto industry is really tough to say. It could go a number of different ways. The large auto companies might come out with cheaper electric type cars quicker in these markets. However the downside is that they may have to rush in order to do so. Another outcome of these stricter controls could mean higher prices on cars in general. With stricter rules, it may mean costlier cars for everyone.
Higher priced cars can be argued as both a positive and a negative for the public. That is not the point. All these states should consider all the possibilities not only of their actions for their own state, but also the states all around them as well.
