U.S. president announces national fuel efficiency policy

The proposal also raises fuel efficiency targets to 35.5 miles per gallon (6.6 liters/100 km) for new passenger vehicles and light trucks by 2016, four years earlier than required under the 2007 energy bill. The new standards are projected to be able to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program with a fuel economy gain averaging more than five percent per year and a reduction of approximately 900 million tons in greenhouse gas emissions. It will also help lower U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The new policy effectively matches the states' emission standards but gives automakers more time to reach those goals. The auto industry had been fighting the state regulations but ceded to the new policy in return for a predictable countrywide approach with the deadline six and half years distant. The national policy on fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emissions is welcomed by the auto manufacturers because it provides regulatory certainty and predictability and includes flexibilities that will significantly reduce the cost of compliance. The collaboration of federal agencies also allows for clearer rules for all automakers, instead of three standards (Department of Transportation, EPA and a state standard). "President Obama is uniting federal and state governments, the auto industry, labor unions and the environmental community behind a program that will provide for the biggest leap in history to make automobiles more fuel efficient," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This program lessens our dependence on oil and is good for America and the planet"; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.