June 19, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. EPA’s Proposed Heavy Truck Fuel Efficiency Standards Move America Forward
Better Mileage, Less Pollution, Less Oil Dependence, Says ELPC’s Howard Learner
“The U.S. EPA’s updated fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks are a smart step in the right direction to improve mileage, reduce pollution and reduce our dependence on oil,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “The timeline for implementing the standards, however, should be accelerated to achieve the economic and pollution reduction benefits sooner. Let’s accelerate cleaner heavy trucks to move America’s clean energy economy forward,” Learner added.
“Investing in cleaner, more fuel efficient modern heavy trucks will save truck drivers money at the gas pump and reduce carbon pollution,” said Learner. “Today’s proposed standards follow many years of analysis and meetings by the U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The “first phase” standards for heavy trucks were finalized in 2011 for model years 2014 to 2018. These “second phase” standards for cleaner heavy trucks begin with model year 2018 and reach their most stringent level in 2027. That end date for implementation should be moved earlier because the technologies for achieving compliance are known and can be deployed sooner.”
Transportation is the second largest source of carbon pollution and diesel emissions are a leading cause of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Even though heavy trucks are only 4 percent of traffic on U.S. roads, they account for about 20 percent of all oil use and 23 percent of the carbon pollution in the transportation sector.
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