For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Politics and Democracy page, Environment and Climate Resource page, and our Organic Transitions page.

President Obama on Friday unveiled a new set of vehicle fuel-efficiency standards that put the US auto industry on track to achieve a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 – a big step toward cutting oil imports and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, energy experts and environmentalists say.

The newly proposed standards, which more than double fuel efficiency compared with today’s levels, follow close on the heels of earlier increases in fuel-economy standards, finalized in April. Under that previous rule, mileage will be raised to 35.5 m.p.g. by 2016, from about 24 m.p.g. today.

The new agreement would by 2025 cut US oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day – as much as half of the oil imported from OPEC each day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. By 2030, it would also lower annual costs at the gas pump by more than $80 billion and cut annual carbon emissions from vehicle tailpipes by the equivalent output of 72 coal-fired power plants, according to a tally by the Union of Concerned Scientists.