California environmental officials are now saying that President Bush’s energy plan to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent could increase greenhouse gas emissions, AP reports.
“We think it not only does not go far enough but may actually, in some cases, if not done right, will increase greenhouse gas emissions,” California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Linda Adams said.
The processes used to create some alternative fuels include a number of methods that burn fossil fuels or turn coal into liquid. Turning coal into liquid to supplement gasoline could double the amount of greenhouse gas emissions of traditional fuel, said Robert Sawyer, chairman of the California Air Resources Board.
The Bush administration on Wednesday proposed spending $1.6 billion to develop new sources of ethanol.
Following Bush’s State of the Union, Schwarzenegger said he “appreciated” the president’s acknowledgment of climate change, adding that his advisers were still evaluating details of the proposal.