U.S. Issues Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cars
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: April 1, 2010

*

WASHINGTON — The federal government issued final rules establishing the first greenhouse gas emissions standards for automobiles and light trucks on Thursday, ending a 30-year battle between regulators and automakers.
Enlarge This Image
Chip Chipman/Bloomberg News

Cars in traffic in Oakland, Calif. The U.S. issued new rules that sets emissions and mileage standards for automobiles and light trucks.

The new rules, jointly written by the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, set emissions and mileage standards that will translate to a fleet average of 35.5 miles a gallon by 2016, nearly a 40 percent improvement over today’s fuel economy.

Officials said the program would save the owner of an average 2016 car $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle and eliminate emissions of nearly a billion tons of climate-altering gases over the lives of the regulated vehicles.

Reaching the new efficiency level will add about $1,000 to the cost of the average new car by 2016, according to industry and government estimates.

It is the first time that limits have been set on vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. The E.P.A. is writing greenhouse gas standards for stationary sources like power plants and steel mills, but those will not take effect before next year, agency officials have said.

“This is a significant step toward cleaner air and energy efficiency and an important example of how our economic and environmental priorities go hand-in-hand,” said Lisa P. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator.

The vehicle emissions program traveled a tortuous path through state regulatory agencies, the courts, Congress and the federal government before culminating in a groundbreaking agreement announced last May by President Obama, auto executives, labor leaders and environmental advocates.

The accord produced a single national standard based on a tough auto emissions law enacted by California in 2004. The automakers have complained of the cost of compliance but welcomed a national plan that did not require them to build different vehicles for different markets to comply with varying state laws.

“This as an example of where the federal government has actually done something right,” said Gloria Bergquist, vice president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “A year ago we were facing piecemeal policies set out by E.P.A., D.O.T. and groups of different states. Our auto engineers cannot design vehicles to different standards.”

But Ms. Bergquist said the program announced on Thursday would end in 2016 and there was no map for the road beyond. She noted that California regulators were already working on tough new standards for 2017 vehicles and that auto companies needed to know what fuel economy rules they would be required to meet.

The rule sets different mileage and emissions standards for different sizes of vehicles, and major manufacturers will have to meet increasingly stringent standards over the 2012-16 period. Vehicles that run exclusively on electricity, like the new Nissan Leaf and the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, will be classed as zero-emissions vehicles, although there is a cap on the number of all-electric vehicles that carmakers can claim credit for.

Small-volume automakers like Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Lamborghini will not have to meet the new standards immediately, but must purchase credits from other carmakers. By 2017, all car companies will have to come into compliance.

The rule estimates the cost of compliance for the industry at $52 billion over the five years of the program, while it calculates benefits at $240 billion. Those benefits include fuel savings, pollution reduction and reduced oil imports.

Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has pressed for stricter fuel economy standards for years and was a co-author of global warming legislation that passed the House last June.

“After three decades of stagnant fuel economy policy and rising gas prices,” Mr. Markey said, “these new standards finally put America on the path to making our vehicles more fuel-efficient and reducing our dependence on imported oil.”

The Obama administration set tougher gas mileage standards for new cars and trucks Thursday, spurring the next generation of fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrids, efficient engines and electric cars.

The heads of the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency signed final rules setting fuel efficiency standards for model years 2012-2016, with a goal of achieving by 2016 the equivalent of 35.5 miles per gallon combined for cars and trucks, an increase of nearly 10 mpg over current standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The EPA set a tailpipe emissions standard of 250 grams (8.75 ounces) of carbon dioxide per mile for vehicles sold in 2016, equal to what would be emitted by vehicles meeting the mileage standard. The EPA issued its first rules ever on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions following a 2007 Supreme Court decision.

"These historic new standards set ambitious, but achievable, fuel economy requirements for the automotive industry that will also encourage new and emerging technologies," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "We will be helping American motorists save money at the pump, while putting less pollution in the air."

Each auto company will have a different fuel-efficiency target, based on its mix of vehicles. Automakers that build more small cars will have a higher target than car companies that manufacture a broad range of cars and trucks. The standard could be as low as 34.1 mpg by 2016 because automakers are expected to receive credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in other ways, including preventing the leaking of coolant from air conditioners.

"This is a significant step towards cleaner air and energy efficiency, and an important example of how our economic and environmental priorities go hand-in-hand," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement.

Dave McCurdy, a former congressman from Oklahoma who leads the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing 11 automakers, said the industry supports a single national standard for future vehicles, saying the program "makes sense for consumers, for government policymakers and for automakers."

LaHood and Jackson said the new requirements will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program. The new standards move up goals set in a 2007 energy law, which required the auto industry to meet a 35 mpg average by 2020.

The rules should add costs to new cars and trucks. The government said the requirements would add an estimated $434 per vehicle in the 2012 model year and $926 per vehicle by 2016 but would save more than $3,000 over the life of the vehicle through better gas mileage.

EPA and the Transportation Department said the requirements would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 960 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated, or the equivalent of taking 50 million cars and light trucks off the road in 2030.

Environmental groups have sought curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming, and challenged the Bush administration for blocking a waiver request from California to pursue more stringent air pollution rules than required by the federal government. The request was granted by the Obama administration last year.

"The standards forthcoming under the 'clean car peace treaty' are a good deal for consumers, for companies, for the country and for the planet," said David Doniger, climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Automakers have been working on an assortment of fuel-efficient technologies, including hybrids, electric cars and technologies that shut off an engine's cylinders when full power isn't needed.

Nissan is releasing its electric car, the Leaf, later this year, while General Motors is introducing the Chevrolet Volt, which can go 40 miles on battery power before an engine kicks in to generate power. Ford is bringing its "EcoBoost" line of direct-injection turbocharged engines, which provide a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency, to 90 percent of its models by 2013.