UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — President Obama took another step to curb greenhouse gas pollution on Tuesday without waiting for Congress as he directed his administration to develop new regulations to reduce carbon emissions from the heavy-duty trucks that transport the nation’s goods.
Appearing in a grocery chain truck bay in this Washington suburb, the president said the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency would draft new fuel economy standards for trucks by March 2015 so that they could be completed a year after that as he rushes to put in place a new regulatory structure before leaving office.
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“Improving gas mileage for these trucks is going to drive down our oil imports even further,” Mr. Obama said, standing next to a Peterbilt truck and in front of two truck cabs emblazoned with Safeway and Coca-Cola corporate logos. “That reduces carbon pollution even more, cuts down on businesses’ fuel costs, which should pay off in lower prices for consumers. So it’s not just a win-win; it’s a win-win-win. We got three wins.”
Not everyone sees it that way. Car and truck manufacturers in the United States have lobbied heavily against aggressive increases in federal fuel economy standards, saying that they could increase vehicle prices and diminish safety. The White House said the E.P.A. and the Transportation Department would work closely with truck manufacturers as they prepared the new rules.
Pollution from transportation is the nation’s second-largest source of greenhouse gas pollution. In 2011, the E.P.A. issued its first round of fuel economy regulations for United States trucks and heavy-duty vehicles built in the model years 2014 to 2018, which the agency projects will reduce carbon pollution by 270 million metric tons, or the equivalent of taking 56 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year.
In announcing the next round of standards at a Safeway supermarket distribution center, Mr. Obama noted that heavy-duty trucks represent just 4 percent of all vehicles on the highways but generate 20 percent of the carbon pollution produced by the transportation sector.
Environmentalists applauded Mr. Obama’s announcement. Michelle Robinson, the director of the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said improving fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks could reduce oil consumption by as much as one million barrels a day by 2035, more than the capacity of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
“Taking advantage of these potential oil savings — and the economic benefits and jobs that come with them — will require the new round of standards to look at a suite of technologies available today and in the years to come,” Ms. Robinson said.
A coalition of shippers that stand to benefit from lower fuel costs, including FedEx, Wabash National and Waste Management, also welcomed the president’s action and released its own principles that it would like to see shape the administration’s review.
“This collaborative approach will result in realistic, achievable goals and an effective regulatory framework to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Douglas W. Stotlar, the president of Con-way, the nation’s third-largest freight company and a member of the coalition.
The American Trucking Association took a more cautious approach, noting that it had worked with the administration on previous rules. “As we begin this new round of standards, ATA hopes the administration will set forth a path that is both based on the best science and research available and economically achievable,” said Bill Graves, the group’s chief executive.
Mr. Obama pointed to what he characterized as an emerging consensus. “If rivals like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola or U.P.S. and FedEx or AT&T and Verizon, if they can join together on this, then maybe Democrats and Republicans can do the same,” he said.
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But he framed his latest move as part of the effort announced in his State of the Union address last month to advance his agenda without the cooperation of Congress. “The point is, I’m eager to work with Congress wherever I can, but whenever I can act on my own to expand opportunity for more Americans and help build our middle class, I’m going to do that,” he said.
Recent Comments
George
6 minutes ago
Obama should have included train engines, which are highly polluting also. It is unfair just to pick out trucks.
Swan
7 minutes ago
This is the step in the right direction. How about just say no to Keystone XL, Mr. Obama? Tell Sec. John Kerry & Mr. Obama to say no on...
Allen Manzano
7 minutes ago
I worked in Spain in the 1950's and the Spanish who worked in cosntruction seemed to live on bread, salt and olive oil, perched on rickety...
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Although Mr. Obama has been harshly criticized by Republicans who say he has abused his executive power, in the case of carbon pollution he has the legal authority under the 1970 Clean Air Act, which requires the E.P.A. to regulate any substance designated as a pollutant that harms or endangers human health. In 2009, the E.P.A. determined that carbon dioxide, emitted in large quantities from tailpipes and smokestacks, meets that definition.
Mr. Obama’s direction is among several executive actions he is taking on climate change, absent movement from Congress. He has also directed the E.P.A. to issue by June 1 a draft regulation to rein in carbon pollution from existing coal-fired power plants, the nation’s largest source of carbon pollution.
Tuesday’s announcement was the third speech or action on climate change by his administration in five days.
On Friday, at a speech in California’s parched Central Valley, Mr. Obama drew a direct link between climate change and drought and announced that his next budget request to Congress would include a $1 billion “climate resiliency” fund to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change.
On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Indonesia, urged that country to sign on to a major climate treaty committing the world’s economies to cutting carbon pollution, announced that the United States and China had reached agreement on small-scale climate actions, and said that he had directed United States diplomatic missions around the world to elevate climate change to a top priority.
In addition to announcing the new truck standards, President Obama also called on Congress to cut $4 billion in annual tax breaks to the oil and gas industry, and to funnel some of that money into a new “energy trust fund” aimed at researching alternative vehicle technologies, such as hybrids and electric vehicles. And he asked Congress to create new tax breaks for the production of cellulosic ethanol, a gasoline alternative made from nonfood plants such as switch grass.
But the proposals have little chance in the current divided Congress, which has repeatedly rejected efforts to end any tax breaks for oil exploration or to back new funding for alternative energy.
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