Environmentalists want more CO2 reductions

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A coalition of environmental groups Tuesday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate refinery emissions of carbon dioxide.

Representatives of Earthjustice submitted comments on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project urging the carbon dioxide regulations be enacted to reduce global warming effects caused by petroleum refineries.

The environmental groups said oil refineries pumped more than 250 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air during 2004 and, along with chemical plants, constitute the second greatest stationary source of greenhouse gases.

"Petroleum refineries are one of the major sources of greenhouse gases, and the time has come to use available technology to reduce these emissions,” said David Bookbinder, senior Sierra Club attorney.

The organizations said CO2 emissions from oil refineries, if unregulated, will increase at nearly double the predicted rate of emissions growth from other sources. According to estimates from the Department of Energy, annual carbon emissions from petroleum refineries will increase to more than 415 million tons by 2030, they said.