The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Transportation (DOT) formally unveiled their joint proposal to set stronger fuel economy and greenhouse gas pollution standards for Model Year 2017-2025 passenger cars and light trucks. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), and EPA is proposing national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.
The standards proposed would apply to light duty vehicles manufactured in model years 2017 through 2025. The proposed CAFE standards are projected to require, on an average industry fleet-wide basis for cars and trucks combined, 40.1 mpg US (5.87 L/100km) in model year 2021, and 49.6 mpg (4.74 L/100km) in model year 2025. EPA’s proposed GHG standards, which are harmonized with NHTSA’s CAFE standards, are projected to require 163 grams/mile of carbon dioxide (CO2) in model year 2025.
The 163 g/mile limit would be equivalent to 54.5 mpg (4.3 L/100km), if the vehicles were to meet this CO2 level all through fuel economy improvements. The agencies expect, however, that a portion of these improvements will be made through reductions in air conditioning leakage, which would not contribute to fuel economy.
The action builds on the first phase of the Obama Administration’s national program (2012-2016) (earlier post), which will raise fuel efficiency equivalent to 35.5 mpg by 2016 and result in an average light vehicle tailpipe CO2 level of 250 grams per mile.
.....The agencies project that this second phase of the national program will save approximately 4 billion barrels of oil and 2 billion metric tons of GHG emissions over the lifetimes of those light duty vehicles sold in MY 2017- 2025. The agencies estimate that fuel savings will far outweigh higher vehicle costs, and that the net benefits to society of the MY 2017-2025 National Program will be in the range of $311 billion to $421 billion (7 and 3 percent discount rates, respectively) over the lifetimes of those vehicles sold in MY 2017-2025.
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