The Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency sent new fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles such as semi-trucks, buses and some pickup trucks and vans for model year 2019 to the White House on Monday, top Obama administration officials said.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx broke the news regarding the standards, which would set new limits beyond 2018, at a Washington event hosted by Politico. Neither he nor EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who also spoke at the event, offered much detail about the proposal their agencies sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
“I can’t give you any of the details … but I’m looking forward to this having an expedited review,” McCarthy said.
The standards, which President Obama had announced were coming last year to succeed the current phase that covers model years 2014 through 2018, are the next step in the president’s climate agenda. Obama has implemented his strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientists blame for climate change, largely through executive action.
The overarching climate effort has delighted environmental allies and Democrats who say Republicans, many of whom are skeptical of the science behind man-made climate change, are blocking legislative options for reducing emissions. But Republicans and industry groups say Obama is overreaching and are concerned his policies will raise energy costs.
Vehicle mileage standards Obama finalized in August 2012 for light-duty vehicles, which were met with resistance from Republicans, have been the hallmark of Obama’s climate push in the transportation sector. Those standards, brokered with major auto manufacturers, would force cars to get 54 miles per gallon by 2025, up from about 29 mph when they were set in 2012. The EPA said last week that most automakers’ 2013 models performed better than the mark set forth under the standard.
McCarthy said the heavy-duty vehicle standard could yield even greater reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are warming the planet.
“[The standards are] looking to send a longer-term market signal,” McCarthy said, later adding, “If you look now, heavy-duty vehicles are huge emitters of greenhouse gases.”
