Bush defends greenhouse gas efforts

April 5 --

After the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, President Bush told reporters that his administration already has laid out a plan to address the issue.

Bush, speaking to reporters in the White House Rose Garden on April 3, said his administration is still studying the Supreme Court ruling. However, he believes he already has laid out a path for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles by increasing the use of cleaner-burning alternative fuels, including biodiesel and ethanol.

"My attitude is that we have laid out a plan that will affect greenhouse gases that come from automobiles by having a mandatory fuel standard that insists upon using 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2017, which will reduce our gasoline usage by 20 percent and halt the growth in greenhouse gases that emanate from automobiles," the president said. "In other words, there is a remedy available for Congress, and I strongly hope that they pass this remedy quickly.ö

While not specifically addressing a question about the likelihood of mandatory greenhouse gas emissions caps, Bush said he would oppose any efforts that could damage economic growth.

"And I say that because, one, I care about the working people of the country, but also because, in order to solve the greenhouse gas issue over a longer period of time, it´s going to require new technologies, which tend to be expensive," Bush said. It´s easier to afford expensive technologies if you´re prosperous."

Bush and other opponents of greenhouse gas caps have long complained they would damage the economy by increasing the costs of producing products and driving jobs overseas, while making energy expensive for the general public.

"Secondly, whatever we do must be in concert with what happens internationally, because we could pass any number of measures that are now being discussed in the Congress, but unless there is an accord with China, China will produce greenhouse gases that will offset anything we do in a brief period of time."

Bush also said that he takes global warming concerns seriously and recognizes that humans are contributing to global warming.