Judge says no to Calif. suit against carmakers

A federal judge has ruled against California's suit to hold the six largest automakers responsible for global warming damages, the Associated Press is reporting.

In its lawsuit filed last year, California blamed the auto industry -- specifically Chrysler Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and the U.S. subsidiaries of Japan's biggest manufacturers, Honda North America, Nissan North America and Toyota Motor North America -- for millions of dollars it expects to spend on repairing damage from global warming-induced floods and other natural disasters.

But U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins said that many culprits -- including other industries and even natural sources -- are responsible for emitting greenhouse gases.

"The court is left without guidance in determining what is an unreasonable contribution to the sum of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, or in determining who should bear the costs associated with global climate change that admittedly result from multiple sources around the globe," Jenkins wrote in his 24-page ruling, released Monday.

One interesting bit of legal reasoning: The judge also ruled that keeping the lawsuit alive would threaten the country's foreign policy position, because the Bush administration has consistently opposed any international treaty that would impose cuts on greenhouse gases.

"President George W. Bush opposes the protocol because it exempts developing nations who are major emitters, fails to address two major pollutants, and would have a negative economic impact on the United States," Jenkins wrote. He said that a court "injecting itself into the global warming thicket at this juncture would require an initial policy determination of the type reserved for the political branches of government."

The auto industry is also squaring off against California in a separate court case, challenging a state law requiring the automakers to reduce vehicle carbon emissions by 2009. A federal judge in Vermont last week rejected the industry's challenge to that state's nearly identical law, boosting California's hopes of prevailing in the courts on its lawsuit.

To read the full AP story on the ruling, click here.

To see a PDF file of the judge's decision, click here.

--Craig Pittman