Larger vehicles are finally being addressed by proposed plans for fuel consumption and greehouse gas emissions reductions
Today the Obama Administration took a new step towards reducing emissions by proposing fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy duty trucks as well as buses. This is the first proposal of its kind.
Also on board with the proposal are the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. These two agencies are after a reduction in emissions of between 10 and 20 percent in vehicles falling in the medium and heavy duty categories.
According to the administration, the proposal would eliminate almost 250 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. A savings of 500 million barrels of oil would also be seen. These figures apply to the life of vehicles produced during the program’s initial five years. This represents an estimated $41 billion in net benefits in those first years of vehicles.
The proposal is expected to be made final next year, with standards starting to take effect in the 2014 model year. Several categories would be addressed with specific fuel efficiency requirements applied to each individually.
Combination tractors would be required to reduce greenhouse emissions and fuel consumption by at least 20 percent by the 2018 model year. Heavy duty pickup trucks and vans, on the other hand, would need to see a 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles and a 10 percent savings for gasoline vehicles by the 2018 model year.
Vocational vehicles would see a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by the 2018 model year under the proposed plan.
EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, told The Detroit News, “These new standards are another step in our work to develop a new generation of clean, fuel-efficient American vehicles that will improve our environment and strengthen our economy.”
