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On Friday, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised the Obama Administration’s new plan to reduce oil consumption by expanding auto emissions standards and adopting the nation’s first greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy standards for freight trucks.

Last month, the federal government strengthened fuel economy and GHG emission standards for model year 2012-2016 passenger vehicles and light trucks, increasing fuel economy by about 5 percent annually and reducing fleet-wide GHGs an estimated 21 percent by 2030. The plan would continue fuel economy improvements and emission reductions for those vehicles for model year 2017 and beyond, and set national standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks for model years 2014 through 2018, EDF officials said in a prepared statement.

Passenger vehicles and freight trucks currently are responsible for 40 percent of U.S. oil consumption and 25 percent of the nation's heat-trapping gases, according to EDF.