Auto leaders discuss climate change

updated 3:52 p.m. ET March 14, 2007

WASHINGTON - U.S. automakers and a top union official told Congress on Wednesday that the industry cannot deal alone with global warming, and they warned that proposed fuel efficiency increases could cost jobs.

The leaders of General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Chrysler, along with the head of the United Auto Workers union, made a rare joint appearance before a House subcommittee. They noted that proposed increases in gas mileage standards for new vehicles would be extremely expensive and challenging.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said raising fuel economy standards could “could lead to calamitous results. This could include the closing of additional facilities and the loss of tens of thousand of automotive jobs.”

Congress was hearing from the automakers at a time when many lawmakers are concerned about global warming and seeking ways to require more fuel efficiency in vehicles. The White House is aiming for a 4 percent increase in fuel economy requirements and wants to change how the rules are applied.

Rick Wagoner, General Motors Corp.’s chairman and chief executive, said the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program, or CAFE, had “failed dramatically” based on its original intentions. He said a 4 percent increase in gas mileage standards would be “extraordinarily expensive and technologically challenging to implement.”

“Even with this proposed CAFE increase .... America will still be using more — and more likely importing more — oil than ever as well as producing more (carbon dioxide) emissions,” Wagoner said.

A panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was also hearing from Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally; Toyota Motor Corp.’s North American President Jim Press; and Tom LaSorda, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group.

Press noted that Toyota “has long been mindful of and accepts the broad scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and will continue unless there are significant and coordinated global efforts to slow the growth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Toyota executive said the auto industry “has a responsibility to be part of the solution, but these issues cannot be addressed by the industry alone.”

LaSorda said climate change must be addressed through more efficient vehicles, the expanded use of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel and the “harnessing of market forces to help drive consumer demand.”

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