The Group of Eight (G8) rich nations said on Sunday they would take steps to reduce demand for transportation fuels, but the Bush administration came out a big winner as there was no call for big increases in the fuel efficiency of U.S. cars and trucks.
Meeting in St. Petersburg for their annual summit, the G8 leaders said in an energy communiqué that two-thirds of world's oil is consumed by the transportation sector and its fuel consumption is outpacing general energy demand. Therefore, they said they would make transportation more energy efficient.
"We will pay special attention to this sector of energy demand," the communiqué said.
However, the document avoided calling for significantly higher vehicle fuel standards.
That is good news for the Bush administration, which is opposed to large increases in fuel requirements because it fears smaller unsafe vehicles would be produced and U.S. automakers would suffer financially.
The administration has increased U.S. vehicle fuel standards slightly in the past few years.
However, energy experts and environmentalists have argued the only way to have a real impact on reducing U.S. oil demand is to significantly raise fuel efficiency standards, because gasoline use accounts for about 40 percent of U.S. daily oil demand, which averages close to 21 million barrels a day.
"It's very weak," said Alice Slater, president of the GRACE Policy Institute who was at the G8 promoting alternative fuels, referring to the communiqué's lack of specific higher vehicle fuel standards. "You can tell this is a compromise document."
The United States is the world's biggest oil user, and Americans drive the biggest gas-guzzling vehicles and pay some of the lowest pump prices among industrialized countries. U.S. drivers often complain that gasoline costs $3 a gallon, but that is almost half what many Europeans pay.
Instead of higher fuel standards, the G8 energy communiqué calls for providing incentives for consumers to buy energy efficient vehicles, including clean diesel powered vehicles and hybrids that often have an engine powered by both gasoline and electricity. The Bush administration supports similar measures in its U.S. energy plan.
The communiqué also includes language that backs the Bush administration's policy to develop more biofuels and vehicles that in the future will run on affordable hydrogen fuel.