The state of California sued the country's largest automobile
manufacturers Wednesday, seeking billions of dollars for environmental
damage caused by tailpipe emissions.
It was the state's latest effort to combat the effects of greenhouse
gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere and cause global warming. The
lawsuit drew praise and criticism for Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, who
filed it on behalf of the state.
"We think that today's decision is more about politics than global
warming," said Gary Toebben, chief executive of the Los Angeles Area
Chamber of Commerce. "It seems like a very political decision on the
part of the attorney general." Automakers said the complaint had no
legal merit.
Environmentalists praised Lockyer for going after cars, one of the
biggest sources of greenhouse gas pollution. It's "another sign that
we've entered a new era in tackling global warming," said Jason Barbose
of Environment California, an activist group.
There was also guarded praise from a member of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's cabinet. "We applaud any effort to defend California's
right to clean our air," California Environmental Protection Agency
Secretary Linda Adams said.
The federal lawsuit contends that the greenhouses gases, mostly carbon
dioxide, emitted from cars is a public nuisance and that automakers
should pay for damages to the state's environment and public works.
"Basically, what we are saying is it's old-fashioned economics. You
should pay for the damage you cause," Lockyer said in an interview. He
noted that "the automobile industry manufactures products that are the
largest growing source of carbon emission in the state and country."
Lockyer, whose term ends in December, is running for state treasurer in November as a Democrat.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages of potentially billions of
dollars for current and future damage to the state's water supplies,
coastline, forests, wildlife and public health.
If successful, Lockyer said, the suit could generate funds to protect
the Sierra snowpack and repair the canals and reservoirs that bring
water to Los Angeles from Northern California.
It could also be used to bolster flood control projects and repair coastal erosion, he added.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland, names General
Motors Corp., Toyota Motor North America Inc., Ford Motor Co., Honda
North America Inc. Chrysler Group and Nissan North America Inc. as
defendants.
In filing a nuisance lawsuit, the state is taking a somewhat new
approach. It is not contending the automakers have broken any
environmental laws, only that their conduct has resulted in severe
damage for which they should pay.
Legal experts had mixed views about the lawsuit's viability. Sean
Hecht, a UCLA environmental law expert, called the approach "not
unreasonable" under precedents that go back to English common law.
"It's novel, but based on standard nuisance law, they certainly have a
shot at convincing a judge that the burdens this industry imposes on
society are too great," Hecht said.
But USC tort law expert Greg Keating wondered whether Lockyer was
trying to advance an untenable argument that automakers collectively
are creating a nuisance by selling cars that emit carbon dioxide. "I
doubt it has legs," he said.
Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers, said, "Using nuisance suits to address global warming
would involve the courts in deciding political questions beyond their
jurisdiction. This opens the door to lawsuits targeting any activity
that uses fossil fuel for energy." The alliance represents the Big
Three U.S. automakers and Toyota.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of efforts by Schwarzenegger,
Lockyer, other elected officials and the Legislature to fight climate
change by curbing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases.
Last month the governor and Democratic leaders of the Legislature
negotiated a deal that produced AB 32, a pioneering bill that sought to
cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020.
The bill, which Schwarzenegger has pledged to sign this month, would
make California the first state to cap the amount of carbon dioxide
released by refineries, power plants and other heavy industries.
