Report: US fuel-efficiency standards on trucks stricter than in Europe, Canada

U.S. fuel-efficiency standards are more aggressive in some respects than those in Europe and Canada, according to two International Energy Agency (IEA) reports published Wednesday.

One of the reports noted the recently finalized standards for light-duty vehicles set tougher greenhouse gas emission-reduction targets than in Canada and the European Union.

{mosads}The U.S. is shooting for 163 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per mile by 2025. The European Union has the next most stringent standard, at 209 grams per mile by 2015.

The report also mentioned the U.S. and Japan are the only Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations with fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

The subject of fuel-efficiency standards has riled Republicans and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. They criticized recently finalized rules that require light-duty vehicles to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, saying costlier technology will wipe out savings at the pump. 

The U.S. standards require big rigs and semi trucks to cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent by model year 2018. They also mandate that heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans cut fuel consumption by 10 to 15 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 12 to 17 percent by model year 2018, depending on whether they use gasoline or diesel fuel.