Americans looking to feel less pain at the pump received solid answers on Aug. 28 as the Obama administration finalized regulations that will require cars and trucks in 2025 to be twice as fuel efficient as they are now.
“These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said President Obama, in a statement on the White House webpage. “This historic agreement builds on the progress we’ve already made to save families money at the pump and cut our oil consumption.”
“By the middle of the next decade our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today. It’ll strengthen our nation’s energy security, it’s good for middle class families and it will help create an economy built to last.”
As a direct result of the new policy, roughly 12 billion barrels of oil will also be saved and more importantly, six billion metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution will be cut according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projections.
The new policy is also expected to increase job production as car manufacturers begin to produce more cars that rely more on electricity charges and less on oil.
The new regulations upgrade previous revisions that Obama has made regarding the fuel efficiency of cars between 2011 and 2016. Cars made in those years are expected to get roughly 35.5 miles per gallon of gasoline.
