The rules start with model year 2014 heavy-duty trucks and buses and require up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions for 2018 vehicles. The specific emissions reduction requirements vary depending on the type of vehicle.

On a conference call with reporters today, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said the move is the latest in a series of incremental steps by the Obama administration to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The rules gain new meaning now that it appears the Senate will be unable to pass significant climate change legislation anytime soon.

“This is a transition to more energy efficiency, a transition to lower pollution, a transition to less carbon in our atmosphere,” Jackson said. She also warned that any effort in Congress to curtail the EPA’s power to address greenhouse gas emissions could affect the rules.

Here are some statistics about the program, from an Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Transportation statement (the numbers refer to cumulative effects over the lives of vehicles from model years 2014-2018):

• The program is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 250 million metric tons.
• It is projected to save 500 million barrels of oil.
• It will also result in $41 million in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014-2018 vehicles.

If you want to get specific, here are the emission reduction requirements for each class of vehicle, according to a statement on the proposal:

For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the agencies are proposing separate gasoline and diesel truck standards, which phase in starting in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage).  Lastly, for vocational vehicles, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards starting in the 2014 model year which would achieve up to a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2018 model year.

The notice of intent (NOI) proposes increasing fuel economy by between 3 and 6 percent per year. Such an increase could bring fuel economy to as much as 62 miles per gallon by 2025, according to Reuters.

The proposal is a response to a May 21, 2010, presidential memorandum instructing the federal agencies to increase fuel economy in passenger cars and light-duty trucks made in those years. The agencies had previously put forth a proposal to increase fuel economy in the vehicles to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

But the plan is not yet set in stone and likely won’t be finalized until 2012.

While this may not seem too exciting, it’s actually quite a big deal. In a statement today, the agencies called the move the “most dramatic overhaul in the label’s 30-year history,” and environmentalists and renewable energy advocates are banking on these new labels to change the way consumers buy vehicles. If the environmental impacts of a vehicle are in plain view, the logic goes, consumers will choose more fuel efficient cars. This change is certain to rankle some in the auto industry, who stand to lose a lot of money if consumers buying habits change quickly.

According to a joint EPA-DOT statement, here’s what the new labels will include:

EPA and DOT are proposing two new label designs for comment. One label design prominently features a letter grade to communicate the vehicle’s overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance. The new design will also provide consumers with an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years compared to an average gasoline-powered vehicle of the same model year.

The second proposed label retains the current label’s focus on miles per gallon (MPG) and annual fuel costs, while updating the overall design and adding the required new comparison information on fuel economy and emissions.

In the statement, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said:

New fuel economy labels will keep pace with the new generation of fuel efficient cars and trucks rolling off the line, and provide simple, straightforward updates to inform consumers about their choices in a rapidly changing market.  We want to help buyers find vehicles that meet their needs, keep the air clean and save them money at the pump.

The proposal has not yet been finalized and the agencies are currently accepting public input.

LaHood emphasized that the new guidelines will benefit not only the planet, but also American drivers, who will see their fuel costs drop as vehicles become more efficient.

“Putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road isn’t just the right thing to do for the environment,” he said. “It’s also a great way for Americans to save more at the pump.”

Jackson, who called the guidelines “historic” and a “win-win program for our economy and the environment,” added that they will also benefit American innovators, who will work to develop more efficient car parts and new batteries, and will mean “$2.3 billion that can stay at home in our economy rather than buying oil overseas.”

In response to a question from FOX News about whether this move has implications for further regulation of greenhouse gases, Jackson said the program will show people that emissions can be easily regulated, without harmful consequences to the economy. “It puts to rest these doomsday scenarios” about greenhouse gas regulations, she said. This is only the first step in regulating emissions, she emphasized; “the president’s big plan for dealing with energy and climate is new legislation.”

The guidelines drew immediate praise from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which has long advocated national emissions and efficiency regulations rather than patchwork state-by-state rules.

“America needs a roadmap to reduced dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gases, and only the federal government can play this role,” Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance, said in a press release. “Today, the federal government has laid out a course of action through 2016, and now we need to work on 2017 and beyond.”

Update: Elana Schor has some more details on the new guidelines, which would raise average vehicle efficiency to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The rules are more lax for luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW; they will have extra time to comply.

“This action will give our auto companies some long-overdue clarity, stability and predictability,” Obama said Tuesday in a speech at a General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

The new rules unify the Environmental Protection Agency’s goals to reduce the emissions from automobiles and the Department of Transportation’s rules on fuel economy. The proposed program will cover model years 2012 through 2016, increasing fleet-wide fuel economy by 5 percent per year. This means by 2016, the fleet-wide average would hit 35.5 miles per gallon, and would need to meet a new limit on emissions per gallon. The new rules will need to go through the traditional approval process before they are finalized, which needs to happen by March 2010. But the administration estimates that they will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons.

More importantly, it will be the Obama administration’s first action toward meeting its stated goals of reducing emissions and complying with the Supreme Court’s directive to the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

The real question is whether the administration will follow through with its threat to move onto setting limits for stationary sources of carbon dioxide emissions, like power plants, refineries, and manufacturers. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson declined to offer much information about their progress on that front at a press conference on Tuesday.

“EPA will continue to do it’s job, which is to respond to the now 2-plus-year old ruling about the Clean Air Act,” said Jackson. “I think it is fair to say that today’ announcement is path-breaking … It is the beginning of regulation. We should expect the EPA to continue to do its job.”

But she also made it clear that the administration would still prefer not to write the regulations. “I hope that doesn’t come to pass,” she said. “I believe that legislation is the preferable route.”

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The measure supported by The Times, sponsored by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the Senate and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) in the House, would give drivers up to $4,000 for a car that gets 18 miles per gallon or less, if they trade it in for a vehicle that is 25 percent more fuel-efficient than the average in its class. The alternative, sponsored by Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), requires that the new vehicle get just 27 mpg. (The national average for 2011 vehicles, according to new regulations, will be 27.3 mpg.)

A cash-for-clunkers program would have two main goals: stimulating the flagging American auto industry and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sutton’s bill favors the former, and has therefore won much more support in Detroit, because it stipulates that only American vehicles can be bought under the scheme. The Schumer-Israel plan, on the other hand, emphasizes the latter, with higher fuel-economy standards and no buy-American clause.

Yet in the long run, the Schumer-Israel bill could actually do more to get Detroit back on its feet. By encouraging the production of fuel-efficient cars, the measure could help Detroit retool for a new auto economy that will favor smaller cars and hybrids. The Sutton bill does nothing to dissuade Detroit from continuing to produce the gas-guzzlers that helped get the American auto industry into its current fix.

In related news, The Michigan Messenger reports on a similar plan to get people to trade in their old household appliances.

“Despite all the public discussion of fuel efficiency, SUVs and trucks are the industry’s biggest sellers right now as a remarkable number of buyers seem to be compelled by three factors: great deals, low gas prices and winter weather,” said Michelle Krebs, Senior Editor of Edmunds‘ AutoObserver.com.

Is anyone else thinking “Scarface” right now? As in: I have this big pile of coke on my desk and I just can’t keep my face out of it.

(Who said gas tax?)