President Obama alongside Ray LaHood and Lisa Jackson.
The White House today announced a proposal that would further the Obama Administration’s goal to increase overall fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the nation’s autos by requiring cars and light trucks to average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
The effort would be the first-ever greenhouse gas standard to be imposed on the nation’s vehicles, and was announced as a joint effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation.
The proposal requires corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards to be met by automakers across their fleet of vehicles four years ahead of the 2020 deadline set by a 2007 energy law previously laid out by Congress.
The regulation would go into effect with model year 2012 and require automakers to gradually increase fuel efficiency from the current standard of 25 miles per gallon.
Cars and trucks currently account for 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told reporters that the newly proposed standards would cut emissions by 950 million metric tons per year – effectively taking 42 million cars off the road.
Today’s proposal backs up plans by the Obama Administration announced in May to adopt higher national fuel-economy standard – one that has be unchanged for more than a quarter of a century.
The EPA and the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will begin finalizing efficiency rules to be completed by March 31, 2010 in order to meet the 18 month cut-off date for the following model year which begins on October 1st.
For more info: Check out the full text on the DOT's website. Also take a look at the video below from Obama's May press conference on emissions standards and don't forget to subscribe to my page and follow me on Twitter @Matt_Cornelius.
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