The may soon press automobile manufacturers to raise the fuel efficiency of cars to 43 mpg, even though the US Congress had agreed to 35 miles per gallon in Dec 2007. A total of 14 US states including California will implement . Although the present US administration hasnt given a green signal to this law, both Democratic and Republican candidates have voiced their support for it.
The states that the fuel efficiency of automobiles would go up to around 43 mpg by 2020 if CO2 emissions generated by vehicles are reduced to the level proposed by California. This would also mean a $13 billion per year boost in the expenses of automakers, beginning from 2016 when the law would come into full effect.
The major breakthrough would be huge cuts in GHG emissions along with a sharp decrease in the nations oil imports.
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on Jul 23rd, 2008
@ 7:33 pm:
Uh,
Wouldn’t raising the cost of vehicles delay their introduction into the market place?
Affan Laghari
on Jul 24th, 2008
@ 12:45 am:
I think by that time, the price of petrol would be too high and people would welcome 43 mpg cars, even if they have to buy cars at higher prices. And Car manufacturers would probably pass on the increased expenses to consumers.
Besides, companies (and maybe people too) would be liable to offset/reduce their emissions or face penalties (or would have to buy offsets). So higher car prices would not be a big problem as they would mean savings in future on petrol and on offsetting (or emissions reductions) costs.
on Jul 24th, 2008
@ 3:01 am:
Affan,
You can mandate fuel economy all you want. The question is how do you get people to buy those high mileage vehicles?
BTW we could raise the mileage to much greater than 43 mpg if we built vehicles out of cardboard, tin foil, and canvas.
I suppose you are right about the best way to make this happen put a (government) gun to peoples heads.
So far the higher prices for vehicles vs the price of oil is a losing proposition. However, the Al Capone method always works. Make people an offer they can’t refuse.
Affan Laghari
on Jul 24th, 2008
@ 7:20 am:
Actually, it depends on how much you higher you set the car prices. Being a market economy, things may eventually settle down and the government may need to take some further steps to settle things down. Some companies may go out of business, some companies may shift operations abroad like to Mexico, Some companies may do other things to save expenses.
But the main thing is that a law is a law (government gun as you mention). Either the government will have to change it or people and companies will have to adjust themselves.
What will people do if they have only 2 options: buy high mileage, high price cars or go for bicycles. That may be because the government may ban all cars emitting more than a certain amount of CO2.
So things will evolve. New technologies may come into the market. Companies will do some research. People may find some ways to restrict emissions of their old vehicles by some new add-on. So all these things will come.
I am neither favoring the government nor car companies. But of course, it is about people. This is what sustainability is: For us and for the coming generations.
And its too easy to forget that sustainability also considers society and the economy besides the environment, whereas people think of environment when they talk about sustainability. The car companies have the responsibility of reducing emissions but they also have the responsibility of making decisions that favor their shareholders and they also have the responsibility of giving jobs to the society and they also have the responsibility of strengthening the overall economy. This is what the government has to take into account when implementing this law or any other law.
Affan Laghari
on Jul 24th, 2008
@ 12:31 pm:
Simon,
Here’s a good link for you. Japanese firm working on technology to increase fuel efficiency, decrease emissions of cars: