Exceeding the goal on fuel economy

With the backing of environmentalists and the auto industry, President Barack Obama is meeting and even exceeding his pledge to increase fuel efficiency standards. It's a promise we have already rated as In the Works, but Obama's May 19, 2009, announcement that he will increase car and truck fuel economy to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon merited an update.

On the campaign trail, Obama said he would boost vehicle efficiency by 4 percent annually. Now he says fuel efficiency will increase by an average of 5 percent a year. By 2016, cars and trucks will be 40 percent more efficient than today's vehicles, according to the plan. His proposal surpasses the law passed by Congress in 2007, which requires an average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, and builds on Obama's earlier order to increase fuel standards for 2011 car models.

More efficient cars mean reductions in greenhouse gases — about 900 million metric tons, according to the White House.

Striking the deal required a little political gymnastics on behalf of the administration. (After all, when was the last time the auto industry and environmentalists agreed on anything?) The proposal has support from California, where officials have been pressing the federal government to allow stricter state rules. California's effort was backed by environmentalists as well as the District of Columbia and 13 other states that agreed to adopt California's plan. The auto industry had an incentive to go along because it would have been faced with disparate state-by-state standards, plus federal fuel economy guidelines.

Obama has effectively ended the debate by establishing a national benchmark: States and environmentalists get their stricter fuel economy rules, and the auto industry will be required to meet only one standard.

Nevertheless, putting Obama's plan on the books will take some time. The proposal must work its way through the rulemaking channels at both the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, and that can sometimes be a lengthy process. Until that is done, we'll continue to rate this promise In the Works.