Executive Summary
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have established a coordinated program for Federal standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) for light-duty vehicles.1 This program was developed in cooperation and alignment with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to ensure a single National Program. The National Program established standards that increase in stringency year-over-year from model year (MY) 2012 through MY2025 for EPA and through MY2021 for NHTSA. California adopted the first in the nation GHG standards for light-duty vehicles in 2004 for MY2009-2016, and in 2012 for MY2017-2025, followed by amendments that allow compliance with the Federal GHG standards as compliance with the California GHG standards, in furtherance of a single National Program. Under the National Program, consumers continue to have a full range of vehicle choices that meet their needs, and, through coordination with the California standards, automakers can build a single fleet of vehicles across the U.S. that satisfies all GHG/CAFE requirements. In the agencies’ 2012 final rules establishing the MY2017-2025 standards for EPA and 2017-2021 final and 2022-2025 augural standards for NHTSA, the National Program standards were projected by MY2025 to double fuel economy and cut GHG emissions in half, save 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution and 12 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of MY2012-2025 vehicles, and deliver significant savings for consumers at the gas pump.
The rulemaking establishing the National Program for MY 2017-2025 light-duty vehicles included a regulatory requirement for EPA to conduct a Midterm Evaluation (MTE) of the GHG standards established for MYs 2022-2025.i The 2012 final rule preamble also states that “[t]he mid-term evaluation reflects the rules’ long time frame, and, for NHTSA, the agency’s statutory obligation to conduct a de novo rulemaking in order to establish final standards for MYs 2022-2025.” NHTSA will consider information gathered as part of the MTE record, including information submitted through public comments, in the comprehensive de novo rulemaking it must undertake to set CAFE standards for MYs 2022-2025.ii Through the MTE, EPA must determine no later than April 1, 2018 whether the MY2022-2025 GHG standards, established in 2012, are still appropriate under section 202 (a) of the Clean Air Act, in light of the record then before the Administrator, given the latest available data and information.iii EPA’s decision could go one of three ways: the standards remain appropriate, the standards should be less stringent, or the standards should be more stringent. EPA and NHTSA also are closely coordinating with CARB in conducting the MTE to better ensure the continuation of the National Program. The MTE will be a collaborative, data-driven, and transparent process and must entail a holistic assessment of all the factors considered in the initial standards setting.iv
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have established a coordinated program for Federal standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) for light-duty vehicles.1 This program was developed in cooperation and alignment with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to ensure a single National Program. The National Program established standards that increase in stringency year-over-year from model year (MY) 2012 through MY2025 for EPA and through MY2021 for NHTSA. California adopted the first in the nation GHG standards for light-duty vehicles in 2004 for MY2009-2016, and in 2012 for MY2017-2025, followed by amendments that allow compliance with the Federal GHG standards as compliance with the California GHG standards, in furtherance of a single National Program. Under the National Program, consumers continue to have a full range of vehicle choices that meet their needs, and, through coordination with the California standards, automakers can build a single fleet of vehicles across the U.S. that satisfies all GHG/CAFE requirements. In the agencies’ 2012 final rules establishing the MY2017-2025 standards for EPA and 2017-2021 final and 2022-2025 augural standards for NHTSA, the National Program standards were projected by MY2025 to double fuel economy and cut GHG emissions in half, save 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution and 12 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of MY2012-2025 vehicles, and deliver significant savings for consumers at the gas pump.
The rulemaking establishing the National Program for MY 2017-2025 light-duty vehicles included a regulatory requirement for EPA to conduct a Midterm Evaluation (MTE) of the GHG standards established for MYs 2022-2025.i The 2012 final rule preamble also states that “[t]he mid-term evaluation reflects the rules’ long time frame, and, for NHTSA, the agency’s statutory obligation to conduct a de novo rulemaking in order to establish final standards for MYs 2022-2025.” NHTSA will consider information gathered as part of the MTE record, including information submitted through public comments, in the comprehensive de novo rulemaking it must undertake to set CAFE standards for MYs 2022-2025.ii Through the MTE, EPA must determine no later than April 1, 2018 whether the MY2022-2025 GHG standards, established in 2012, are still appropriate under section 202 (a) of the Clean Air Act, in light of the record then before the Administrator, given the latest available data and information.iii EPA’s decision could go one of three ways: the standards remain appropriate, the standards should be less stringent, or the standards should be more stringent. EPA and NHTSA also are closely coordinating with CARB in conducting the MTE to better ensure the continuation of the National Program. The MTE will be a collaborative, data-driven, and transparent process and must entail a holistic assessment of all the factors considered in the initial standards setting.iv
