Call on Federal Policy Makers to Finalize Strong Fuel Economy Standards for Trucks

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have proposed draft standards that would require heavy-duty trucks to go further on a gallon of fuel. The draft standards are a good start, but they could do more to achieve the fuel savings that UCS analysis found to be cost-effective and technically feasible.

The EPA and DOT are currently collecting feedback from the public on their proposal. It is critical that they hear from people like you, who want policy to be shaped by the best science and to achieve the greatest possible reductions in oil use and global warming emissions.

Submit a comment today in support of better trucks that are 40 percent more efficient.
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0827

I applaud the Obama administration for proposing standards that will make our nation's heavy-duty trucks more efficient. While the proposed standards are a good start, I urge you to strengthen these standards to achieve the greatest possible reductions in oil use and global warming emissions.

Heavy-duty trucks account for only seven percent of the vehicles on the road, but consume roughly one-quarter of all fuel. Furthermore, heavy-duty trucks are the fastest growing source of oil use in the transportation sector. The proposed standards would cut oil use by over a million barrels every two days. The standards would also save truck drivers more than $170 billion in fuel costs, and those savings would be passed on to consumers through lower goods prices.

Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows that we can cost-effectively reduce new truck fuel consumption 40 percent by 2025. If the proposal is strengthened in line with UCS analysis, it would save an additional 200,000 barrels of oil per day in 2035 and avoid an additional 40 million metric tons of global warming emissions annually -- equivalent to shutting down 12 coal-fired power plants.

The technology exists to cost-effectively meet stronger standards sooner than you have proposed. It is critical that the proposal be expanded to capture the full suite of cost-effective solutions available for each type of heavy-duty vehicle, including improved aerodynamics on trailers, more efficient engines in tractor-trailers, and new technologies such as hybrid and electric drive trains.

Once again, I applaud the administration for proposing standards to make our nation's trucks more efficient, and I urge you to strengthen these standards as you move forward.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
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