http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/05/18/obama-to-raise-cafe-standards/ Obama to raise CAFE standards
@ 2:50 pm by Eric Zimmermann
President Obama will significantly increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, possibly as early as tomorrow.
The NY Times reports that Obama will combine the more stringent mileage standards California has adopted with existing CAFE standards to create a single, national standard. Environmentalists will be pleased with the higher targets, while automakers have long sought a national standard.
Mileage standards will rise 30% by 2016 under the new rules, which demand 42 MPG for cars and 26.2 MPG for light trucks.
From the Times:
"This is a very big deal," said Daniel Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign, a group that has pushed for tougher mileage and emissions standards with the goal of curbing the heat-trapping gases that have been linked to global warming. "This is the single biggest step the American government has ever taken to cut greenhouse-gas emissions."
Industry officials spoke on condition of anonymity about the program because they said they did not want to comment publicly in advance of the White House announcement.
The current standards are 27.5 miles a gallon for cars and about 24 miles a gallon for trucks. The new mileage and emissions rules will gradually tighten, beginning with 2011 models, until they reach the 2016 standards.