ICLEI USA Statement on New Fuel Efficiency Standards

Today the Obama administration announced a national rule that will increase fuel efficiency standards to 35.5 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks and establish the first ever nationwide regulation of greenhouse gases. The new standards will raise fleet-wide standards for cars to 42 miles per gallon by 2016, up from 27.5 mpg now.  For light trucks, the required fleet average will rise to about 26.2 mpg by 2016, up from about 24 mpg now.

The following is a statement by Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of ICLEI USA:

“We applaud President Obama’s move to establish a landmark comprehensive fuel efficiency standard that meets the high bar first set by the State of California and embraced by 13 other states. State and local governments have long been the laboratories for leadership and solutions on climate protection that can be a model for the nation.

“The new standard is promising news for local governments coast to coast whose efforts to curb emissions and air pollution have been hindered by the lack of a strong, national standard. It will be far easier for cities and counties to protect the health of their communities and champion strong climate protection initiatives with a major source of emissions expected to drop by 30% under the new standards.

“The transportation sector, which is responsible for one-third of global warming pollution in the United States, will continue to be a focal point and testing ground for innovative policies and products.

“The move, which for the first time ties greenhouse gas limits to federal standards for automobiles, is yet another sign that the Obama administration plans to work in concert with Congress, states, local governments, companies and other key stakeholders to pursue comprehensive strategies to reduce emissions, create green jobs, and save energy and money.

“Today’s announcement also underscores the need for strong federal climate policy that recognizes the role of local governments on the climate and energy front and effectively empowers and resources cities and counties to aggressively reduce emissions and forge clean energy solutions. It has long been clear that cities, counties and states desperately need a strong partner at the federal level to effectively and comprehensively tackle climate change. More than 100 local government officials are carrying that impassioned message to our elected leaders in D.C. as part of the Local Climate Leadership Summit (www.localclimateleadershipsummit.org).”