On Tuesday, President Obama announced new fuel-efficiency standards for heavy duty trucks that would take effect by March 2016. These would come on top of existing standards for 2014-2018 model years.
Read: Obama orders new fuel standards for trucks
While heavy duty trucks make up just 4% of the nation’s vehicles, they emit about 20% of the pollutants spewed into the population by the transportation sector.
According to the AP, Obama said ordering the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop new standards for the 2018 vehicle model year, and beyond, is an example of the kind of steps he intends to take on his own to bolster the economy when he thinks Congress isn’t doing its job.