Fuel economy back on US agenda

A bipartisan bill, which cleared a Senate committee Tuesday, seeks to boost average car mileage by about 10 miles per gallon from 2011 to 2020.

By Mark Clayton and Mark Trumbull | Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

from the May 10, 2007 edition

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Concern about global warming is changing the dynamics of a longstanding debate on Capitol Hill: whether to tighten America's standards for automotive fuel economy.

One bipartisan bill, which cleared a Senate committee Tuesday, seeks to boost average car mileage by about 10 miles per gallon during the 10 years between 2011 and 2020, a so-called "10 in 10" proposal.

Although no one sees it as a one-step fix for the nation's energy challenges, such a move would have major effects – but only if provisions that give US automakers an out are eliminated, say environmentalists.

The measure, which would be the first legislation in nearly two decades to raise fuel-economy standards, would impose costs on consumers and manufacturers, especially Detroit's Big Three. But greenhouse-gas emissions would fall, as would demand for imported oil, assuming the law succeeded in improving fuel economy by 4 percent a year.

"These really are significant levels of reduction – but only if we can get them locked into place," says Paul Bledsoe, a spokesman for the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group of 20 energy experts.

If fuel economy improved 4 percent a year from 2007 to 2030 – about 1 mile per gallon per year – America's oil consumption would drop by 5.6 million barrels per day. Currently the US uses about 20 million barrels per day and, without any major efficiency gains, will be using 28 million by 2030.

New mileage rules face sharp debate in Congress, and the measure is expected to undergo many alterations if it is to clear just the full Senate. Lawmakers have been divided over the issue for years.

But in recent months two shifts have occurred: Democrats have regained control of Congress, and bipartisan consensus has grown on the need to take action to curb the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Even automobile manufacturers voice support, with caveats, for boosting fuel economy.

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Click to enlarge Source: Thomas Austin, Sierra Research/Rich Clabaugh – Staff