Large trucks in the U.S. must cut emissions by as much as 20 percent by 2018 under the first standards planned for work vehicles, the Obama administration said in proposed rules.
Tractor trucks have to meet the 20 percent target, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday in a statement. Heavy- duty pickups and vans must reduce emissions by 10 percent for gas vehicles and 15 percent for diesel-powered models, while buses, motor homes and garbage trucks must cut emissions by 10 percent.
“These are historic standards because they’re the first,” Luke Tonachel, an analyst at the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an interview. “Heavy trucks and buses are the energy hogs of America’s roadways.”
President Barack Obama’s administration has been raising fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles in the U.S. to curb pollution and reduce oil imports. Obama has said he plans to make the medium- and heavy- duty truck standards final by July 30, and they would take effect starting with 2014 models.
“This is a transition to more energy efficiency, a transition to lower pollution,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said on a conference call with reporters.
The government has never set efficiency targets or goals to reduce emissions tied to greenhouse gases for heavy-duty trucks such as those used in construction and hauling.
The American Trucking Associations, an Arlington, Va.- based trade group for 37,000 companies, backs a national fuel-economy standard and plans to examine the rule before commenting, said Brandon Borgna, a spokesman, in an interview.
