Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE):

 On the Road to a Sustainable Future?

  Monday, January 28, 2002

2:00 – 3:30 p.m., Senate 430 Dirksen Office Building

            The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) sponsored a Congressional briefing examining the issue of increased automotive fuel economy through higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The issue has gained increased attention as a result of the Congressional energy debate and heightened concerns about national energy security. The briefing highlighted the results of the recently released National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study entitled: Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards, which was done at the request of Congress. The briefing featured the expert panel listed below: 

• Dr. David L. Greene, member of the Committee on the Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, National Academy of Sciences; Corporate Research Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Focus: The findings of the NAS report on CAFE.
• Greg Dana, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Focus: The positions of major automotive manufacturers concerning CAFE.
• John German, Manager of Environment and Energy Analyses, Product Regulatory Office, American Honda Motor Company; Power-Train Engineer, Chrysler Motor Company.  Focus: Engineering and Technology aspects of CAFE. 
• David Friedman, Senior Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Focus: The benefits of increasing CAFE standards. 
• Carl Nash, former Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; President and Technical Director, Xprts, LLC (an automotive crash forensics organization); Adjunct Professor of Engineering, The George Washington University, National Crash Analysis Center. Focus: Transportation safety and CAFE standards. 

          According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), ), the United States consumes more than 18 million barrels of oil per day, an amount equivalent to the daily consumption of all of Europe and all of the states of the former Soviet Union combined. Of this consumption, domestic production accounts for approximately 7.8 million barrels of oil a day; the remaining 10.7 million barrels is imported.  Oil imports currently constitute about 56 percent of total U.S. oil consumption.  EIA projects that U.S. reliance on imported oil will increase to two-thirds of consumption early this century. The increase will come regardless of domestic production, because the United States, which consumes 25 percent of the world’s oil production, has less than three percent of total proven world oil reserves. This amount includes both technologically recoverable and unrecoverable oil.  Therefore, to help protect national energy security, lower U.S. oil demand has become an important issue.  Because U.S. cars and SUVs/light trucks account for more than 40 percent of total daily oil consumption, improvements in automotive fuel economy are viewed by many as an effective way to reduce the nation’s costly reliance on imported oil (EIA cites that Americans spent $119 billion on oil imports in 2000).             

        Automotive fuel economy doubled from 1973 to 1985, largely in response to the CAFE standards enacted by Congress in 1975. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends (1975-2001) report, the average fuel economy of new cars has been essentially flat over the last 16 years with the 27.5 mpg CAFE standard, which was set in 1977 and remains unchanged. The fuel economy standard for SUVs/light trucks is 20.7 mpg. The recent boom in sales of SUVs/light trucks, which now constitute over 50 percent of the new vehicle market, has led to an overall decline in fleet-wide fuel economy.  At the same time, U.S. dependence on oil imports has grown substantially.  EPA’s report highlights, that during the 1980s and 1990s, there were significant gains in fuel efficiency for new vehicles, but these gains were often applied to performance enhancements like faster acceleration, more engine torque, and more overall power, rather than to improved fuel economy.

          Beyond national energy security, other issues often cited in the debate over vehicle fuel economy include environmental, public health, and economic impacts. For example, U.S. automobile emissions of CO₂ (the leading greenhouse gas) are more than either India’s or Germany’s total CO₂ emissions.

  For more information, please contact Christopher Berendt: (202) 662-1886 or cberendt@eesi.org.