President Obama today will announce new federal standards for automobile efficiency and greenhouse gase emissions–a long-awaited move supported by environmentalists and the auto industry.
The new federal rule will be on par with regulations proposed by California and 13 other states. As a result, automakers will have a single standard to meet, instead of a patchwork of state rules.
The new rule, which calls for a reduction of carbon emissions by 30%, is the first such rule to address greenhouse gases. In addition, the regulation will accelerate fuel efficiency improvements beyond those set by Congress in December 2007.
Cars will be required to achieve 39 miles per gallons (MPG) by 2016 and light trucks will be required to reach 30 mpg. Increased mpg should save 1.8 billion barrels of oil through 2016 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 900 million tons, the equivalent to shutting down 194 coal plants, according to the administration.
Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, called it "one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions."
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