Railroad Passengers Call on Congress and President Bush to Enact Real Climate Change Solutions

Release #08-08—April 16, 2008

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Washington, D.C. April 16, 2008—Citing a missed opportunity to propose real solutions to climate change that would help both our environment and our economy, the National Association of Railroad Passengers criticized today’s address by President Bush and urged that balanced transportation policy be a key element in climate change legislation.

“The President has a goal of halting the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 2025. His goal is inadequate and his methods for reaching it ring hollow,” said NARP Executive Director Ross Capon.

“The framework he proposed today ignores a key problem: The United States, with just 4.5% of the world’s population, uses 25% of the world’s oil; the U.S. imports about 60% of its oil, according to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.” The U.S. transportation sector alone emits more CO2 than the entire economy of any other country in the world except China (US Public Interest Research Group). Environmental Protection Agency data show that over 60% of CO2 emissions from U.S. transportation in 2005 came from personal automobiles.

Automobiles account for 40% of U.S. oil consumption, so U.S. automobiles cause about 10% of worldwide oil consumption.

Capon noted, “With an expanded national passenger train network, Americans could shift to—-or expand use of—-an attractive, energy-efficient travel choice that is environmentally sound, reducing both their carbon output and U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

“The President’s desire to reduce carbon output in the energy sector is laudable, but his focus too narrow. NARP urges President Bush and Congress to include, as part of any meaningful climate change policy, an emphasis in transportation investment on the most energy-efficient and environmentally sound forms of transportation, including passenger trains and mass transit.  Such an emphasis would be consistent with the President’s stated interest in green technology.

“Fuel efficiency offers the most immediate and biggest potential for reducing CO2 emissions from transportation over the next three decades, partly because we are so far from developing advanced, low-carbon technologies to replace oil-based transportation energy. The emissions reduction policy measure that will have the most immediate impact is the one that will make greater use of the most fuel/carbon efficient transportation.”