If lawmakers pass the Illinois Clean Cars Act currently under debate in Springfield, the state’s drivers will see fuel cost savings of approximately $1.24 billion annually above and beyond savings from the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, according to a new report by Environment Illinois that was released at a press conference April 14. The federal CAFE program raises the average miles per gallon for the nation’s car fleet to 35 by 2020, while the Illinois Clean Cars Act creates a new car average fleet of 39.2 MPG by the same year.

For individual drivers, new cars meeting the clean car standards will save more than $360-$410 in fuel costs each and every year. Consumers who finance their vehicle purchase with a five-year loan to buy a vehicle will realize an immediate pocketbook benefit, as their lower gas costs outweigh the small incremental increase in car payments in the very first month. For drivers buying their cars outright, these savings result in a payback period of 2-2.5 years after the purchase of a car meeting the new emissions standards, according to the report, Dollars and Sense: The Economic Impacts of Adopting a Clean Cars Program in Illinois.

The Illinois Clean Cars Act (HB 3424 / SB 2238) would make Illinois the 14th state to adopt more stringent tailpipe standards for air pollution and global warming pollution emitted by passenger vehicles sold in the state. The standards require automakers to gradually reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by cars and light trucks on a fleet-wide average basis between 2009 and 2020. To date, 13 states, home to 39% of the U.S. automobile market, have adopted the standards. Automakers in those states are expected to comply with the tailpipe emission standards by making cars more efficient, among other things.

The Illinois Climate Action Network (Illinois CAN), a broad-based coalition of environmental, conservation and faith organizations, launched a campaign to pass the Illinois Clean Cars Act on April 2 as a key component of a five-point platform that includes a cap-and-trade policy, low carbon fuel standards, energy efficient furnace requirements and a statewide energy efficient building code. State Rep. Karen May and State Senator Terry Link are leading sponsors of the Illinois Clean Cars Act.

The findings of the Environment Illinois report underestimate the ultimate economic benefit of clean cars, because they’re based on an assumption of $3.00 - $3.50 per gallon fuel costs well into the future, and low estimates of the increase in total vehicle miles traveled in the state. In this conservative scenario, however, Illinois consumers still reap enormous benefits – in 18 counties, the annual savings exceeds $10 million per year, while in 94 counties the savings tops $1 million per year.

Clean cars would yield other economic benefits for the state as well. Consumers would likely spend the savings they see at the pump in other sectors of Illinois’ economy, and the state’s ethanol industry would get a boost as alternative fuel vehicles become a key tool for automakers to meet clean car standards.