US President Barack Obama has announced tough measures aimed at making cars more fuel efficient.

It is part of a groundbreaking plan to cut vehicle pollution by almost a third. Under the new standards, passenger cars must average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, which Obama said would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the programme: “Everyone wins. Consumers pay less for fuel, which means less money going overseas and more money to save or spend here at home. The economy as a whole runs more efficiently by using less oil and producing less pollution and companies like those here today have new incentives to create the technologies and the jobs”. The US Congress does not have to approve the standards, which will be implemented through federal rules. The compromise also resolves a long-running dispute between the White House and the state of California, which had been seeking a waiver from federal law to impose its own tough emission standards. The plan has also been praised by carmakers and environmentalists.More about: Car industry, USA

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