The volatile stock market, Wisconsin recall elections and run-up to the Ames straw poll have dominated political news coverage this week, overshadowing a story that may have more far-reaching implications. Starting in 2014, fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards will apply to medium and heavy-duty trucks for the first time in U.S. history.

President Obama announced the new standards on August 9. From the government’s fact sheet:

The new program sets fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards for three categories of medium- and heavy-duty trucks beginning in model year 2014:

1. Certain combination tractors – commonly known as big rigs or semi trucks – will be required to achieve up to approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018, saving up to 4 gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

2. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, separate standards are required for gasoline- powered and diesel trucks. These vehicles will be required to achieve up to about 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018. Under the finalized standards a typical gasoline or diesel powered heavy-duty pickup truck or van could save one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

3. Vocational vehicles – including delivery trucks, buses, and garbage trucks – will be required to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10 percent by model year 2018. These trucks could save an average of one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

Impact and Benefits of the Truck Standards

The new standards for trucks are expected to result in significant savings and benefits over the lifetime of vehicles built for model years 2014-2018, including:

• Saving a projected 530 million barrels of oil and reducing carbon pollution emissions by about 270 million metric tons.

• Saving vehicle owners and operators an estimated $50 billion in fuel costs. Yielding an estimated $49 billion in societal benefits.

• Ensuring long-term savings for vehicle owners and operators above their initial upfront costs – a semi truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck’s useful life.

In addition, EPA estimates the standards will improve air quality by reducing particulate matter and ozone, resulting in societal benefits ranging from about $1.3 billion to $4.2 billion in 2030.

The Need to Reduce Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Heavy-duty trucks are the fastest-growing contributors to greenhouse gas emissions within the transportation sector and account for a significant portion of domestic oil use:

• Transportation accounts for about 72 percent of our total domestic oil consumption.

• Heavy-duty vehicles account for 17 percent of transportation oil use – and 12 percent of

all US oil consumption.

• Nearly 6 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in 2007 were produced by heavy-duty vehicles.

These vehicles are responsible for a huge share of our national oil consumption:

The regulations call for reductions on fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions by 2018 of 9% to 23%, depending on the type of vehicle. Trucks and other heavy vehicles make up only 4% of the domestic vehicle fleet, but given the distance they travel, the time they spend idling and their low fuel efficiency, they end up consuming about 20% of all vehicle fuel, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Experts say that a 20% reduction in heavy-vehicle emissions would boost fuel efficiency to an average of 8 miles per gallon from 6 mpg now.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Obama and the country’s automakers unveiled new fuel economy rules for passenger vehicles that would boost fleet-wide average gas mileage to 54.5 mpg by 2025, from about 27.8 mpg now.

The fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks are a step in the right direction, though not as ambitious as they could be. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration negotiated the targets with automakers and other stakeholders. They took the same approach in developing the new rules for medium and heavy-duty trucks.

It’s a fine line between corporate buy-in and regulator sell-out. In this case, I think it was wise to take the inclusive approach. I would rather see some progress on truck mileage and emissions than have corporate interest groups bury the effort with a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign against so-called “job-killing” regulations. Not that the collaboration deterred Republicans from trotting out the same tired arguments against any government action to improve the environment or public health:

[House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor spokesman Brian Patrick, in a blog post on the first-time standards the White House unveiled Tuesday, said that while President Obama’s intentions are “laudable,” such rules “further tie the hands of job creators and add yet another hurdle to getting the economy up and running.”

“The result of these regulations means increased costs for businesses and families, and fewer jobs for workers. Rather than placing additional burdens on working families and small businesses, Washington should be focused on removing barriers to growth and fostering an environment for job creation,” the post on Cantor’s blog states.

He is oblivious to the fact that industry went along with these regulations. Car, truck and engine manufacturers as well as the United Auto Workers consider the rules an opportunity to create jobs. Trucking industry giants see significant savings ahead:

Navistar, Cummins and the American Trucking Associations came out strongly supporting the regulations. The Engine Manufacturers Association and the Truck Manufacturers Association described the program timeline as “challenging,” but remained optimistic that the standards would be met.

Volvo, Chrysler and Conway all endorsed the standards, the Hill has reported. […]

“With this rule, EPA and NHTSA have now set an example for what could be a worldwide GHG and fuel efficiency regulation for heavy duty trucks and engines,” Navistar chairman, president and CEO Daniel C. Ustian said.

“This regulation will add real value for our customers as better fuel economy lowers their operating costs while significantly benefiting the environment,” said Rich Freeland, vice president and president of the engine business at Cummins,  a manufacturer of engines and related technologies.

President Obama has mostly failed to live up to his campaign promises on energy and climate change, and the last Congress couldn’t come close to passing even a weak plan to combat global warming. It’s good to see at least a few positive changes happening through administrative rule-making. Let’s hope manufacturers and the trucking industry are open to further improvement after 2018.

UPDATE: The Natural Resources Defense Council, United Auto Workers and National Wildlife Federation just published a joint report called “Supplying Ingenuity: U.S. Suppliers of Clean, Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies.” Click through for details on how many jobs cleaner vehicle production now supports, as well as the potential gains from investing in green technology. Unfortunately, Iowa is not among the states with the most facilities and workers employed in the fuel-efficient parts supply chain.