Sunday, March 29, 2009
Environmentalists were taken aback this week when the Obama administration unveiled its proposed fuel economy standards for automobiles in 2011. The new regulations—known officially as the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for cars, trucks, and SUVs—will require new cars two years from now to get even lower gas mileage than what was proposed by the Bush administration in 2008. Whereas the Department of Transportation under Bush demanded passenger cars get 31.2 miles per gallon (mpg), Obama is only requiring 30.2 mpg. Similarly with SUVs and light pick-up trucks, Bush wanted 25 mpg, while Obama’s mark is only 24.1.
“Obama promised change, but unfortunately this is change in the wrong direction,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s unfathomable that Obama would issue regulations worse than Bush, but that is exactly what he has done.”
In 2007 Congress mandated that the CAFE standard reach 35 mpg by 2020.
An important aside to the fuel economy debate is whether the federal government will allow California officials to impose their own emissions standards on automakers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Bush vetoed such a move by California, but EPA under Obama is reportedly “moving toward restoring California’s regulatory authority in the matter,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
New Fuel Economy Rules Spark Debate (by Martin Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times)
Worse Than Bush: Obama's New Fuel Economy Standards Lower Than Bush Proposal (Center for Biological Diversity press release)
Proposed Fuel Economy Rules for 2011 (Department of Transportation) (PDF)
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