BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN: NEW ENERGY FOR AMERICA
• Increase Fuel Economy Standards. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase fuel economy
standards 4 percent per each year while protecting the financial future of domestic automakers.
The plan, which will save nearly a half trillion gallons of gasoline and 6 billion metric tons of
greenhouse gases, will establish concrete targets for annual fuel efficiency increases while giving
industry the flexibility to meet those targets.
• Invest in Developing Advanced Vehicles and Put 1 Million Plugin
Electric Vehicles on the Road
by 2015. As a U.S. senator, Barack Obama has led efforts to jumpstart federal investment in
advanced vehicles, including combined plug‐in hybrid/flexible fuel vehicles, which can get over
150 miles per gallon of gas As president, Obama will continue this leadership by investing in
advanced vehicle technology with a specific focus on R&D in advanced battery technology. The
increased federal funding will leverage private sector funds and support our domestic automakers
to bring plug‐in hybrids and other advanced vehicles to American consumers. Barack Obama and
Joe Biden will also provide a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles as
well as conversion tax credits. And to help create a market and show government leadership in
purchasing highly efficient cars, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will commit to:
o Within one year of becoming President, the entire White House fleet will be converted to
plug‐ins as security permits; and
o Half of all cars purchased by the federal government will be plug‐in hybrids or all‐electric
by 2012
• Partner with Domestic Automakers. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will also provide $4 billion
retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers, so
that the new fuel‐efficient cars can be built in the U.S. by American workers rather than overseas.
This measure will strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector and help ensure that American
workers will build the high‐demand cars of the future.
• Mandate All New Vehicles are Flexible Fuel Vehicles. Sustainably‐produced biofuels can create
jobs, protect the environment and help end oil addiction – but only if Americans drive cars that
will take such fuels. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work with Congress and auto companies to
ensure that all new vehicles have FFV capability – the capability by the end of his first term in
office.
• Develop the Next Generation of Sustainable Biofuels and Infrastructure. Advances in biofuels,
including cellulosic ethanol, biobutenol and other new technologies that produce synthetic
petroleum from sustainable feedstocks offer tremendous potential to break our addiction to oil.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to ensure that these clean alternative fuels are developed
and incorporated into our national supply as soon as possible. They will require at least 60 billion
gallons of advanced biofuels by 2030. They will invest federal resources, including tax incentives
and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies and building the
infrastructure to support them.
• Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will establish a
National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to speed the introduction of low‐carbon nonpetroleum
fuels. The standard requires fuels suppliers in 2010 to begin to reduce the carbon of
their fuel by 5 percent within 5 years and 10 percent within 10 years. The Obama‐Biden plan will
incentivize increased private sector investment in advanced low‐carbon fuels and has a
sustainability provision to ensure that increased biofuels production does not come at the expense
of environmental conservation. The LCFS is an important mechanism in ensuring that our efforts
to reduce our oil dependence also reduce carbon emissions.
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