This year UPS added 200 new hybrids to its fleet. Photo by roadtransport.com.
Radical changes are speeding toward the auto industry as regulators feel an increasing push from the Obama administration to reduce oil consumption and lower greenhouse gases.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have just proposed a new initiative called the Heavy Duty National Program, geared to reducing the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of medium and heavy duty vehicles, such as large pickup trucks, vans, semi-trucks, as well as all types and sizes of work trucks and buses.
The agencies estimate that the combined proposed standards have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save approximately 500 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles sold from 2014 to 2018.
“The new rules are expected to save truckers more than $35 billion in net benefits. Whether you’re an independent contractor who relies on a pickup truck or an independent operator of a full size semi, shrinking fuel costs will mean more money in your pocket,” said Ray LaHood, secretary of transportation.
“Some of those fuel cost savings will reduce transportation costs for businesses, which may choose to invest those savings in creating new jobs here at home rather than shipping barrels of dollars aboard to foreign energy providers,” added Mr. LaHood.
President Barack Obama shared the same view last spring, saying, “Our dependence on foreign oil endangers our security and our economy,” while signing the memorandum that put this program in motion.
A joint regulatory announcement by the two agencies confirms that, “Transportation accounts for about 72 percent of our domestic oil use, and heavy duty vehicles account for about 17 percent of transportation oil use.”
The EPA also discovered that transportation sources emitted 29 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, and have been the fastest growing sources of emissions since 1990. Of primary concern are emissions consisting of: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons.
The heavy duty truck sector addressed in this joint proposal accounted for nearly 20 percent of the emissions in 2007, and - within the transportation sector - heavy duty vehicles appear to be the fastest growing contributors of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA.
The newly proposed standards will specifically address three heavy truck types:
- Combination tractors – the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year, and achieving up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption by the 2018 model year.
- Heavy pickup trucks and vans – the agencies are proposing separate gasoline and diesel standards which will phase in starting in the 2014 model year – achieving up to 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles, and 15 percent for diesel vehicles by the 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage).
- Vocational vehicles – the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards starting in the 2014 model year, achieving up to a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by the 2018 model year.
This proposal is just the beginning of the process. A public hearing will be held on Nov. 18, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge in Massachusetts. Additionally, Rebecca Yoon, a representative with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, can be reached for questions about the proposed program at: 202-366-2992.
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