The Obama administration is proposing new clean air and fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks that include first-time federal limits for tailpipe emissions. Under the proposal, the fleet wide Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard will rise to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. That accelerates the timetable for federal standards set in a 2007 energy law, which would have required that standard to be met by 2020. The current standard is 27.5 miles per gallon. Also, vehicles would have to meet a combined average emission level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The regulations cover model years 2012 to 2016.
The proposal parallels standards that several states, including California, have long sought to impose that curb greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The proposal would supersede present state clean-air regulations. Some believe this proposal lays the groundwork for the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act without new legislation.
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