EPA's Endangerment Finding
Paving the Way Toward the Next Generation of Cars and Trucks
EPA's Final Endangerment Finding will allow EPA to finalize the first greenhouse gas standards for new
light-duty vehicles as part of the joint rulemaking with the Department of Transportation.
•	The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
and EPA jointly proposed a rule on Sept. 15, 2009, establishing an historic national program that
would significantly improve vehicle fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases.
•	EPA's proposal represents the second phase of its response to the Supreme Court's 2007
decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which held that greenhouse gases were air pollutants for
purposes of the Clean Air Act.
•	The proposed program covers model years 2012 through 2016 and includes miles per gallon
requirements under NHTSA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program and the first-
ever national greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.
•	The proposed national program would require model year 2016 vehicles to meet an estimated
combined average emission level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The overall light-duty
vehicle fleet would reach 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year 2016, if all reductions were
made through fuel economy improvements.
•	The proposed greenhouse gas standards would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950
million metric tons and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of model year 2012-
2016 vehicles.
•	In total, the proposed standards would reduce C02 emissions from the U.S. light-duty fleet by
approximately 21 percent by 2030 over the level that would occur in the absence of the national
program.
•	EPA estimates that the 2012-2016 model year lifetime benefits of the proposed national program
would be more than four times greater than the lifetime costs of these model year vehicles.
•	In the development of this rule, EPA and NHTSA have met with many stakeholders including
automakers, states, environmental organizations, and many more to ensure that the standards
proposed today are both aggressive and achievable, even in light of the current financial state of
the auto industry.
•	The joint proposal must be finalized by March 31, 2010, so that CAFE regulations are in place the
required 18 months prior to model year 2012 vehicles beginning production (as required by the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act).
m}

-------