Florida Votes To Adopt California's Tougher Emissions Standard

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car.jpgLast week, the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission voted 6-1 to adopt California's tougher emissions standard. But state lawmakers and federal regulators will have to approve the new rule before it can take effect as planned in 2013, Tampa Bay Online reports.

According to state environmental officials, by adopting California's standard, Florida would force automakers to reduce emissions from new cars and trucks in the state by an extra 10 million metric tons by 2020, equivalent of removing almost 1.1 million cars of the road annually.

Critics of the plan say the technological changes required to meet the tougher standards will drive up the cost of vehicles and could reduce the availability of some vehicles in the state.

Last week, GM, Ford and Chrysler have all included green initiatives in their requests for federal aid.

Smaller automakers in the U.K. recently won a four-year delay to Europe's carbon plans.

Environment + Energy Leader