The United States versus
European Community
A Report Commissioned by the
Global Climate Coalition
Summary
The report examines the environmental policies and standards of the United States and the
EC, as well as the real-world impacts of these efforts. In short, the study indicates that the
United States is outpacing countries of the European Community (EC) in setting tough
environmental standards, spending on environmental protection and achieving significant
environmental improvements.
Environmental standards in the United States are in many cases more stringent than
comparable standards in Europe. For example, the United States has much lower limits on
automobile emissions, much more stringent testing procedures, and much stricter controls
over motor vehicle fuel specifications. In addition, the United States is the only nation with
federal standards for motor vehicle fuel economy.
The analysis also revealed that the United States has a more stringent and more
comprehensive regulatory program governing the management of hazardous wastes.
In addition, the United States has, for a wide range of selected indicators, achieved a cleaner
environment and lower levels of industrial and municipal discharges. Among the specific
findings, it was determined that the United States has higher water quality levels than the EC
for major river systems; the United States has achieved lower levels of sulfur dioxide
emissions (linked to acid rain) than the EC; and the United States has achieved higher levels
of municipal waste water treatment than EC countries.

Summary of Key Findings
The principal findings from this comparison include the following:
•

Environmental Standards: U.S. standards are in many cases more stringent than the
EC. For example:
— The U.S. and the EC generally have comparable standards for ambient air quality and
new source emissions.
— Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the U.S. has a stringent, new program
for regulating SO2 and NOx emissions from major existing sources. The EC has no
comparable program.

 — The U.S. has more stringent standards for automobile emissions and motor fuels.
— The U.S. has more stringent standards and a more comprehensive regulatory program
for hazardous waste management.
•

Actual Environmental Performance: For a wide range of selected indicators, the U.S.
has achieved a cleaner environment and also has achieved lower levels of industrial and
municipal discharges. Examples of these include:
— The U.S. has better water quality levels than the EC in major selected river systems.
— The U.S. has achieved lower emissions of SO2 than the EC. This difference will
become even greater with implementation of Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
— The U.S. has achieved lower levels of discharges of oxidizable material into inland
water bodies.
— The U.S. has achieved higher levels of municipal waste water treatment.

•

Investments in Environmental Protection: The U.S. is allocating a substantially greater
share of its GDP to environmental protection than the EC - 1.7 percent vs. 1.2 percent - a
difference of 40 percent. U.S. environmental expenditures as percent of GDP are
projected to grow to at least 2.7 percent by the 2000. This estimate does not include the
full cost for implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and does not
include the costs for any major new climate change mitigation program. The U.S. GDP
projection has been adjusted to reflect the impact of the Clinton Economic Plan.

•

EC CO2 Stabilization Plans: Based on EC member country plans that have been
submitted to the EC for review and discussion, the European Community will apparently
fall short of its goal to achieve stabilization of carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2000.

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