Centennial could be the first in the nation to ask retailers to warn retailers that fossil fuel burning “releasing air pollutants.” Greenhouse gasColorado is known to be associated with significant health effects and global heating. ”
The warning is the lynching pin of the bill – HB25-1277 -It passed the state capitol briefly on April 2nd and is scheduled to be heard this week at the Senate Transportation Energy Committee. Its democratic sponsors say the bill will raise awareness among consumers that gas burning vehicles will create pollutants that can harm the health of the atmosphere, leading to more intense and extreme weather, wildfires and droughts.
On a groundbreaking scale, retailers should place a type of 16 points or less on fuel pumps and a printed warning label on a white background in English and Spanish, “in a prominent place” with less than 16 points, near a display that offers oil-based products for sale.
Advocates compare to cigarette warning labels and stickers that have found scientific evidence that finds motivation to reconsider the health effects of smoking.
The labeling bill is supported by environmental groups, including 350 Colorado and the Sierra Club, and is opposed by gas stations, chambers of commerce and energy industry groups. Approximately 136 lobbyist registrations have been submitted to the Secretary of State in support, opposition or oversight. This is the divisive benchmark for this measure.
“This bill, as you’ve heard, aims to promote systemic change and help you achieve greenhouse gas emissions targets,” sponsor Rep. Junie Joseph (D-Boulder), testified to the House Energy and Environment Committee Committee on March 6th.
Renewable energy surged in 2024, but so did fossil fuels
Colorado is on track to respond to greenhouse gas emissions Reduction According to a November report compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Energy Department, there are 26% by 2025, 50% at levels above 2005 by 2030, and levels above 2005, but are a year behind under state law.
However, the state is severely behind as it complies with federal air quality standards. Energy industry business and emissions from gas-powered vehicles Main driver Of the last 20 years, the Denver area, a metropolitan area of nine counties, has not cleaned the air. The largest cities in the state are ranked among them 25 Worst Nationwide for ozone contamination of lung injury.
A few days before the labelling bill passed the House, the state’s health department told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Reduces air quality Second time in a year. The request aims to give regulators more time to develop plans to reduce contaminants that cause toxic hazes that obscure rocky mountains from May to September.
Colorado has repeatedly touted the “national” greenhouse gas emission reduction laws targeting oil and gas production, as well as the requirements for utilities to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
However, to make long-term progress towards the state’s mission to reduce emissions by 100% by 2050, authorities need residents to drive less and drive car pools and increase public transport. The bill sponsored cited the first labeling law in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cambridge City Council Established Greenhouse Gas Labeling Act 2020. The city inspector said, “Warning: Gasoline, diesel and ethanol burning has a major impact on human health and the environment, including the contribution of the 19 Gas Bureau’s pump bays.
Efforts were underway to prevent leaks in the CO2 pipeline. The Trump administration quietly derailed them.
Early research into the effects of Cambridge’s labeling methods suggests that the peer pressure arising from people who see labels at a gas pump and tell their friends about it at a party can actually motivate people to reconsider their transportation choices. Scale established in Sweden in 2021 Label required Similar results were obtained when describing the impact of each fuel grade on the climate installed in the gas pump.
Greg Sparkman, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston University, tells people the warning stickers when others in the community pump gas that they recognize that petroleum products produce the emissions they are irradiating.
Sparkman’s research found that Americans function in a state of “pluralistic ignorance” and essentially “wander around thinking that others don’t care about climate change.”
Research he co-authored Nature In 2022, it was found that most Americans “underestimate the prevalence of support for climate change mitigation policies.” Though 66% to 80% of people have approved such measures, Americans estimate that the prevalence is between 37% and 43% on average. The data showed. He said the warning label could overcome this indifference.
“These signs are cutting the mirage away. These are one of many signals that there will be an increase in the number of Americans who view this as an emergency that requires urgent action from the government, citizens and everyone,” he said.
In Colorado, gas station owners, as well as representatives from the Retail Trade Organization and the American Petroleum Institute, testified against the label bill at a House Energy Committee hearing on March 6th, June 6th, calling target retailers “embarrassing” and “exiting fines” a “embarrassing duty.” Some warn that gas prices will rise.
The hidden costs of gasoline
The law requires convenience stores to design, buy, paste labels and keep them in good condition. If a consumer reports dirty decals to the state attorney general’s office, the owner $20,000 penalty Every Violation – Standards for violations under the Consumer Protection Act. With added fixes to the house floor, retailers will provide 45 days to resolve label issues.
“The gas pump itself is already messy with words, numbers, prices, colors, buttons and payment mechanisms,” Angie Howes, a lobbyist representing Kum & Go, who owns Maverik convenience stores, testified at the committee hearing. “The message is likely to be lost in noise, and we question the impact of such labels on their supporters’ goals.”
Members of the Republican and Democrat committee similarly expressed concern about the fines and urged bill sponsors to consider reducing them.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) also opposed the measure, citing the state’s efforts to make it easier and cheaper for Colorado to use subsidies for electric vehicles and heat pumps to reduce energy use.
Colorado is already First in the nation The new EVS market share was testified by Lindsay Ellis, director of legislative affairs at the agency.
“The bill assumes that awareness is an effective strategy for changing behavior alone, and that we do so at the responsibility and cost of small businesses like gas stations,” she said. “We should continue to focus on solutions with measurable emission reductions to improve air quality.”
Gov. Jared Police also appears to be questionable in the ability of the measure to bring about long-term change. When contacted by Capital & Main for comment, spokesman Eric Maruyama cited his legislative and management strategies that “reduced hundreds of millions of tons of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since 2010.”
“Like CDPHE, Governor Police is committed to protecting the clean air of Colorado and reducing pollution through proven strategies that are environmentally friendly and consumer-friendly, allowing Colorado businesses and individuals to take meaningful actions to improve public health.” “Governor Police is skeptical of labeling requirements and will consider laws that will reach his desk.”
Doctors and scientists who testified at a House Energy Committee hearing on March 6th opposed.
“I take care of children who live in some of the most contaminated zip cords in the country. I can directly tell them that burning fossil fuels make them sick,” Dr. Claire Burchinal, a pediatrician in Denver, told the committee.
“The warning labels can link the abstract threat of a climate emergency with fossil fuel use here and now. My patients and their families have the right to know how the products they use are affecting their health.”
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