For Immediate Release
Contact: Ellen Carey
202-461-2382
August 28, 2012
Increasing Fuel Efficiency Protects Economic and National Security Interests, SAFE Says
Applauds goal to nearly double average fuel economy by 2025; Also calls for increased domestic oil production
WASHINGTON – Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), said today that achieving an average fuel economy standard of 54.5 miles per gallon (mph) by 2025 would benefit U.S. economic and national security interests by reducing U.S. demand for oil. The goal was set by an Obama administration plan announced today to increase fuel economy standards.
“As long as the U.S. continues to guzzle oil, our economic and national security interests will remain vulnerable to the price fluctuations of the global oil market,” said Diamond. “The best way to lessen our exposure to instability in the Middle East is to make oil less important to our economy, our budgets, and our daily lives.”
Diamond also called for increased domestic production of oil to be combined with efforts to reduce consumption. “When it comes to reducing the threats posed by our nation’s reliance on oil, decreasing consumption is not the only tool at our disposal,” Diamond said. “It is also important to safely tap into new and unused domestic oil and gas resources to decrease the amount of energy we’re forced to purchase overseas.”
SAFE released an original analysis in 2011 estimating a savings in energy demand of between 2.5 and 3.8 million barrels of oil a day by 2040 if fuel economy standards were tightened to more than 54 mpg. The proposed standards would increase approximately 5 percent for cars and roughly 3.5 percent for light trucks annually through 2021, with a 5 percent annual increase for both after 2021. Although the standards only go through 2025, the oil savings would increase for the years afterwards as newer and more efficient cars replace the older less efficient cars already on the road.
In addition to fuel economy improvements, SAFE also advocates for energy security policies that expand domestic production and transition the U.S. vehicle fleet to advanced alternative transportation such as electrification of the light-duty vehicle fleet and natural gas-fueled long-haul heavy duty trucks.
To view the complete analysis, click here.