New Report on Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels

The National Academies Press has published a new report that assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80% across the U.S. light-duty vehicles fleet by 2050 compared to 2005. Entitled Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels, the report analyzes scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, "identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions." Both a free PDF and a reasonably priced paperback version of the report are available from the Academies' website.

Limiting Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Medium & Heavy Duty Motor Vehicles

A 497 page document containing the proposed regulations for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from medium and heavy duty motor vehicles is now available in the Federal Register. Proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the regulations are designed to transition the United States to a "new generation of clean vehicles." Vehicles proposed for regulation include combination tractors, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, vocational vehicles, and gasoline and diesel heavy-duty engines.

The summary at the beginning of the document mentions that NHTSA's proposed fuel standards for these vehicles would be voluntary in 2014 and 2015 but mandatory for new models in 2016. EPA's proposed gas emission standards would begin with 2014 models.