Calls are being aired in the US for federal environmental regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles.

Environmental groups including Greenpeace, along with 12 states, are to argue in a US court of appeals today that the federal Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate harmful pollutants, Reuters reports.

In 2003, the EPA said it does not regulate greenhouse gas emissions because the US Congress has not granted it authority to do so under the air act.

"EPA is doing nothing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions," Massachusetts assistant attorney general James Milkey told reporters.

"In fact, since August 2003, EPA has hidden behind its claim that it lacks statutory authority to regulate such emissions."

The court is expected to give a decision on the issue within the next few months.