Albany -- New York Thursday joined in a multi-state lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for delaying a decision on whether to allow states to aggressively reduce car and truck emissions, Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis announced.

The states seek to follow a California plan to require all new vehicles models sold there to cut greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2009; the goal would be to reduce emissions approximately 20 percent by 2020, varying by state. But California and other states need a federal waiver from the EPA to implement the new standards. EPA has had the California waiver request for nearly two years without making a decision – prompting the lawsuit.

Two recent court decisions on related matters have boosted the states’ push on automobile emissions standards. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide – the most prevalent greenhouse gas – as an air pollutant. In October, a federal judge ruled against an automobile industry lawsuit that attempted to throw out Vermont’s new emissions regulations – which are similar to California’s and New York’s – claiming that states cannot set their own emissions policy.