NEW RULES FOR TRUCKS, VANS

Tough EPA standards aim to slash carbon dioxide emissions by 24% over 12 years.

The Obama administration on Friday proposed tough new standards to reduce pollution from carbonemitting trucks and vans, the latest move by the president to address global warming.

The new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency are designed to slash carbon dioxide emissions by 24% over the next 12 years while reducing oil consumption by up to 1.8 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the rules.

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and oil use in the U.S. transportation sector, a contributor to climate change. The trucks and vans comprise only 5% of vehicles on the road.

The rules come amid a f lurry of recent actions by Obama on the environment, including a new federal rule regulating small streams and wetlands and a separate rule to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the rules would help the environment and the economy, as trucks use less fuel and shipping costs go down.

The truck rule appeared to generate less controversy than some of the previous regulations on the issue, although the industry was still reviewing the proposal.

The American Trucking Assn. said it supports the new rules but remains concerned that they may result in technologies being used on vehicles before they can be fully tested.

Trucks carry goods from produce to timber and oil, as well as packages from major companies such as Amazon, on highways across the country.

“Fuel is an enormous expense for our industry, and carbon emissions carry an enormous cost for our planet,” said ATA President and Chief Executive Bill Graves.

Still, Graves and other officials said truck and engine manufacturers need time to develop solutions to meet the new standards

The standards would cover the model years 20212027 and apply to semitrucks, large pickup trucks and vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks, officials said.

The rules build on fuel efficiency and carbon pollution standards already in place for the model years 2014-2018. Those rules are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 270 million metric tons and save vehicle owners more than $50 billion in fuel costs, compared with previous standards.

The rules will be open to public comment for at least two months before being completed next year.