"Under the new plan, designed to reduce planet-warming tailpipe emissions, new vehicles would be required to average 55 miles per gallon starting in 2026."
"WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced strengthened limits on pollution from automobile tailpipes in a bid to reduce a major source of the carbon dioxide emissions that are heating the planet.
The more stringent rule — the most significant climate action taken to date by the Biden administration and highest level ever set for fuel economy — would require passenger vehicles to travel an average of 55 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2026, from just under 38 miles per gallon today.
That would prevent the release of 3.1 billion tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide through 2050, according to the E.P.A. It would save about 360 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned, leading to a 15 percent annual reduction in the nation’s gasoline consumption by 2050. And motorists would save about $1,080 in fuel costs over the lifetime of more efficient vehicles, the agency estimated.
The Biden administration is expected to lean heavily on executive action and regulations like the new tailpipe rule after the centerpiece of the president’s climate agenda, far-reaching legislation that would have transformed the energy and transportation sectors, was essentially scuttled on Sunday by Senator Joe Manchin III, the West Virginia Democrat who holds the swing vote in an evenly split Senate."
Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times December 20, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"Biden Boosts Fuel-Economy Standards To Fight Climate Change" (AP)
"EPA Tightens Car Emission Standards, Tosses Trump-Era Rules" (E&E News)
"U.S. EPA Finalizes Tougher New Vehicle Emissions Requirements" (Reuters)
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