Late Friday, May 29, 1998, an article posted on the Dow Jones Newswire ("U.S. EPA: Further Study Needed On Catalytic Converters") had the EPA downplaying the New York Times story.

"There are still major scientific uncertainties about the contributions that catalytic converters may make to greenhouse gases," said an EPA spokesman, who added that "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change...the leading international scientific body on the subject, reports that the emission of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from internal combustion engines is not well understood and data on emissions is scarce."

According to the Dow Jones Wire, "the EPA said the New York Times' report that emissions from catalytic converters account for about 7% of all greenhouse gases is wrong. The level is probably closer to 2%, but even that would be a cause for concern." The agency said it would continue to research the issue.

Return to Catalytic Converters and Global Warming.