Cutting Truck Fuel Consumption 40% by 2025?

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a new blog post pushing stronger efficiency laws for trucks.

Here are the highlights:

Over the last several months, in collaboration with other NGOs, we have been working hard to crunch the numbers to determine just how far we can go, and what it would take to get there. Over the next few months, we will be releasing more detailed analysis outlining the path forward for these new standards. Today, however, we can at least share the good news: Standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks can cut the average fuel consumption of new trucks by 40% in 2025, as compared to 2010.

What does reducing truck fuel consumption by 40% do? It means that by 2030, we will save 1.4 million barrels of oil every day. That is enough oil to fuel over 21 million trips around the earth! It will also keep nearly 270 million metric tons of global warming emissions out of the atmosphere every year. And for the average long-haul truck driver, these new standards would save him or her $30,000 in fuel annually.

Improvements in transmissions to reduce friction and keep the engine operating at its most efficient point can improve the fuel consumption of all trucks, not just big rigs. And we are likely to see continued improvements to the engine, including capturing heat from the engine that would normally be wasted as exhaust and instead using that energy to actually improve the power output of the engine. Electric and hybrid-electric trucks could also play a role in reducing oil usage and global warming emissions.

Read on and find a sharable infographic to share on the topic.