WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to propose the first-ever national emission limits for cars and trucks as well as average mileage requirement of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
According to administration officials, it would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil through 2016 and would be the environmental equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road, senior administration officials said Monday night.
Environmental groups are celebrating a plan to choke off the amount of emissions vehicles put in the air. The national standard is expected to cut down greenhouse gas 30 percent by 2016.
"This speeds the day we have cleaner, greener cars that cost less money to drive and operate," said Fred Krupp, the President of the Environmental Defense Fund. "It speeds the day that we have economic security, national security, and climate security. This is a dramatic breakthrough."
Supporters say the plan will also begin to break the United States' dependence on foreign oil, just as emerging countries like China and India grow their middle-class populations and compete for the same resources.
"I was in Shanghai about ten years ago and no one had a car," said Richard Gordon of the environmental group Bridging the Gap. "Now if you go to Shanghai, there are super highways just like there are here and cars are packed on them."
The plan also would effectively end a feud between automakers and statehouses over emission standards. After years of trying to put the brakes on tougher mileage standards, the auto industry is embracing the change. State like California have tried to drive forward with its own restrictions, but automakers support one timetable and one set of rules.
"We need a national program for our long-term product planning, not several conflicting standards," said Dave McCurdy, the President of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group that represents 11 vehicle manufacturers.
The plan still must clear regulatory hurdles at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department. The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the formal announcement by Obama was scheduled for Tuesday.
The tougher standards will reportedly cost consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle.
The decision arrives as General Motors and Chrysler are receiving billions in federal help, closing hundreds of dealerships, and trying to design survival strategies.
"So looking at making these capital investments going forward is a very hard thing, particularly for the American auto industry," said Gordon.
