Obama to adopt California's standard on Automotive Emissions (Leg. & Reg.)

President Barack Obama will issue new fuel efficiency standards for automobiles today that will cut greenhouse gases emissions on new vehicles by 30% by 2016. In a nutshell, the Obama administration is adopting California's pioneering environmental standards for the entire nation, and that means that new cars will need to be rated at 42 mpg and new trucks at 26 mpg by 2016.

The new standard will be announced by the administration today, and representatives from major US automakers, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, are expected to be in Washington for the event. The new standard is also expected to end litigation between the Big Three and California. Environmentalists are delighted by the move, calling it the biggest step that the US government has ever taken to limit GHG emissions.

(Source: New York Times, Associated Press, May 18, 2009) Contact: Bill Adams, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (202) 366-4570, www.nhtsa.gov