Obama Addresses Truck Emissions

The Obama Administration announced this week that it is proposing strengthened mileage requirements on heavy duty trucks.

Although heavy-duty trucks represent only 4 percent of the vehicles on the road, they account for 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector and consume 20 percent of on-road fuel, Obama said. Improving the fuel efficiency of the vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save more money for both vehicle operators and consumers, he said.

This will be the second time, the Obama Administration has tightened these requirements and would take effect beginning in car model year 2018.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.