Citing economic concerns, the Obama administration has issued federal gas mileage standards that are less stringent that those proposed by the Bush administration.
As reported by Carbon Control News,
The combined standard for vehicles and light trucks will be set at 27.3 miles per gallon (mpg) and the passenger vehicle standard is expected to be set at 30.2 mpg. The Obama administration standard will strengthen the combined vehicle and light truck standard from the current 25.3 mpg, as well as the current passenger vehicle standard of 27.5 mpg. But the final standard is weaker than what the Bush administration proposed last year—a combined 2011 CAFE standard of 27.8 mpg and a passenger car standard of 31.2 mpg.
Carbon Control News reports that the greens are unhappy with the decision but that they have
refrained from faulting the decision too harshly.
A spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists told Carbon Control News that,
“The Obama administration had its hands tied. The 2011 rule is based on fundamentally flawed methodology and data held over from the Bush administration, so it’s no surprise that it isn’t that much of a boost.”
The greens hope that Obama will issue a “more robust” standard in future years.