Cleaning up standards

The opinion piece (“Clean fuel standards legislation will raise cost of driving,” My View, Feb. 13) by Chet Thompson of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers claimed that cleaning up our transportation fuels will lead to higher prices at the pump. Nothing could be further from the truth. The addition of newer, cleaner fuel choices and competition at the pump will drive down prices at the pump. Consumers finally will have the choice of gasoline or low-priced alternative fuels.

The op-ed claims the low-carbon fuel standard has raised the price of gas at the pump by 25 cents in California but gives no basis for that assertion. Research clearly shows the high cost of gasoline in California has nothing to do with a clean fuel standard. California’s higher gas prices are directly attributable to taxes (59 cents a gallon), cap and trade regulations (24 cents per gallon) and the cost of a barrel of crude. The proposed Clean Fuel Standard (Senate Bill 14) that’s up this week in the House has passed the Senate because clean fuels reduce pollution, fight climate change, and attract new investments and good-paying jobs in the transportation sector.

Graham Noyes executive director Low Carbon Fuels Coalition Sacramento, Calif.