WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (KUNA) - President Barack Obama met with industry officials on Tuesday to discuss the first-of-their-kind fuel efficiency and greenhouse-gas pollution standards for work trucks, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles.
The White House meeting marked the administration's announcement of the standards, which will save American businesses that operate and own these commercial vehicles approximately 50 billion dollars in fuel costs over the life of the program, according to the White House.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the standards in close coordination with the companies that met with Obama, as well as other stakeholders, following requests from companies to develop the program.
The cost savings for American businesses are on top of the 1.7 trillion dollars that American families will save at the pump from the fuel-efficiency standards announced by the administration for cars and light-duty trucks, including the model year 2017-2025 agreement announced by the President last month, the White House announcement said. "While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened," Obama said. "We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy and drive these trucks. And today, I am proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium-and heavy-duty trucks." Under the comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons. The program - which relies heavily on off-the-shelf technologies - was developed in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fleet owners, the state of California, environmental groups and other stakeholders. The DOT/EPA program will include a range of targets specific to the diverse vehicle types and purposes. Vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles (like transit buses and refuse trucks). Within each of those categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. (end) rm.ajs KUNA 091752 Aug 11NNNN