ACEEE PRESS BRIEF
SENATE FUMBLES FUEL ECONOMY: ADVANTAGE
OPEC
For further information, contact: Therese Langer at
202-429-8873
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate yesterday squandered its
best opportunity in a decade to reduce U.S. oil dependence by voting
62-38 to pass an energy bill amendment delegating the setting of
fuel economy standards by the National Highway Transportation Safety
Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
NHTSA has failed to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) standards significantly above Congressionally mandated levels
in the 26 years that the program has existed, and the agency is not
likely to change course now. The fuel economy of new vehicles peaked
in 1987 and has since declined to below 1981 levels. Declining fuel
economy makes the transport sector the weakest link in the U.S.
energy economy: other major sectors such as buildings and industry
continue to show efficiency gains.
Higher CAFE standards would have saved the United States about
2.5 million barrels a day (the amount we now import from the Middle
East) by the year 2020. The standards represented close to half of
the total energy savings of the Senate energy package. "The Senate
has not learned much about energy security since September 11," said
ACEEE Deputy Director Bill Prindle. "This fumble not only forfeits
the energy security game to OPEC, it also puts the goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions further out of reach."
Despite the finding of several recent studies (including one by a
National Academy of Sciences panel) that a significant fuel economy
increase could be achieved in the next ten to fifteen years with no
change in the size of vehicles and with net savings to consumers,
opponents of raising CAFE claimed that the higher standards would
force everyone into golf cart-size vehicles. "The amount of
misinformation crammed into the arguments against higher standards
was staggering," said ACEEE Transportation Director Therese Langer.
"Auto manufacturers have cried wolf time and again to stall
important standards on vehicles' fuel economy, safety, and tailpipe
emissions-how could the Senate have been hoodwinked this time
around?"
The Levin-Bond Amendment sending the standards to NHTSA replaced
an energy bill provision raising the standards to 35 miles per
gallon, a 46% improvement over the current fuel economy of 24 miles
per gallon for cars and light trucks combined. It directs NHTSA to
set fuel economy standards for light trucks within fifteen months
and for cars within two years. The Senate also voted yesterday to
freeze the standard for pickup trucks, which account for 17% of new
vehicle sales, at the current light truck standard of 20.7 miles per
gallon. If an energy bill emerges from the Senate, it would be
conferenced with last summer's House bill, which also excluded any
meaningful increase to CAFE standards.
