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                                                                                       Updated October 11, 2018

Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards


The Trump Administration proposed on August 24, 2018,
amendments to the federal standards that regulate fuel
economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new
passenger cars and light trucks. These standards include the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards
promulgated by the U.S. Department of Transportation's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
and the Light-Duty Vehicle GHG Emission Standards
promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).


The origin of federal fuel economy standards dates to the
mid-1970s. The oil embargo of 1973-1974 imposed by
Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the subsequent tripling in
the price of crude oil brought the fuel economy of U.S.
automobiles into sharp focus. The fleet-wide fuel economy
of new passenger cars had declined from 15.9 miles per
gallon (mpg) in model year (MY) 1965 to 13.0 mpg in MY
1973. In an effort to reduce dependence on imported oil, the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA; P.L. 94-163)
established CAFE standards for passenger cars beginning in
MY 1978 and for light trucks beginning in MY 1979. The
standards required each auto manufacturer to meet a target
for the sales-weighted fuel economy for its entire fleet of
vehicles sold in the United States in each model year.
CAFE standards, and new vehicle fuel economy, rose
steadily through the late 1970s and early 1980s. After 1985,
Congress did not revise the legislated standards for
passenger cars, and they remained at 27.5 mpg until 2011.
The light truck standards were increased to 20.7 mpg in
1996, where they remained until 2005. NHTSA
promulgated two sets of standards in the mid-2000s for
MYs 2005-2007 and MYs 2008-2011, increasing light truck
standards to 24.0 mpg.

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Whether and how EPA could regulate GHGs through
existing Clean Air Act (CAA) authority was debated for
more than a decade before the agency took action. In the
April 2007 decision Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme
Court held that EPA has the authority to regulate GHGs as
air pollutants under the CAA. In the 5-4 decision, the
Court determined that GHGs fit within the CAA's
unambiguous and sweeping definition of air
pollutant. The Court's majority concluded that EPA must,
therefore, decide whether GHG emissions from new motor
vehicles contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, or provide
a reasonable explanation why it cannot or will not make
that decision. On December 15, 2009, EPA promulgated
findings that GHGs endanger both public health and
welfare, and that GHG emissions from new motor vehicles
contribute to that endangerment.


Based on EPA's 2009 findings, the Obama Administration
brokered an agreement among major stakeholders in the
automotive and truck industries, the states, and other
interested parties to develop and implement vehicle GHG
emission standards. Because carbon dioxide (C02) from
vehicle fuel combustion is a major source of GHG
emissions, President Obama directed EPA to work with
NHTSA to align the GHG standards with the CAFE
standards.

EPCA and CAA generally preempt states from adopting
their own fuel economy and emission standards for new
motor vehicles. However, CAA Section 209(b) allows the
State of California to request a preemption waiver for its
motor vehicle emission standards provided that they are at
least as stringent as federal standards and, among other
things, are necessary to meet compelling and extraordinary
conditions. EPA granted California a waiver for its state
GHG standards in July 2009, and President Obama directed
EPA and NHTSA to align the federal GHG and fuel
efficiency standards with those developed by California.
EPA and NHTSA finalized a joint rulemaking affecting
MY 2012-2016 light-duty motor vehicles on April 1, 2010
(Phase 1 standards). The Obama Administration referred to
the coordinated effort as the One National Program.


EPA and NHTSA promulgated a second (current) phase of
CAFE and GHG emission standards for vehicle MYs 2017-
2025 on October 15, 2012 (Phase 2 standards). As with the
Phase 1 rulemaking, the Phase 2 standards were preceded
by a multiparty agreement, brokered by the Obama
Administration, including the State of California, 13 auto
manufacturers, and the United Auto Workers union. The
manufacturers agreed to reduce GHG emissions from their
fleets by about 50% by 2025, compared to 2010, with fleet-
wide fuel economy rising to nearly 50 miles per gallon.

The Phase 2 standards apply to the new fleet of passenger
cars and light trucks-including most sport utility vehicles,
vans, and pickup trucks sold by a manufacturer within the
United States during a given model year. As with the Phase
1 standards, the agencies used the concept of a vehicle's
footprint to set differing targets for different-sized
vehicles. These attribute-based standards differ
structurally from the original CAFE standards, which
grouped domestic passenger cars, imported passenger cars,
and light trucks into three broad categories. Generally, the
larger the vehicle footprint, the lower the corresponding
vehicle fuel economy target and the higher the CO2-
equivalent emissions target. This allows auto manufacturers
to produce a full range of vehicle sizes, as opposed to
focusing on making the entire fleet lighter and smaller to
meet categorical targets.


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