May 6, 2009, 4:55 GMT
Washington - US President Barack Obama's hopes to speed up the production of advanced bio-fuels that are less harmful to the environment to help run the country's cars, according to a draft rule issued Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA's decision, which must be open to public discussion for 60 days, aims to more than triple by 2022 the amount of renewable fuel produced to power vehicles in the United States.
But the rule also makes clear that the administration is not placing its hopes on maize-based ethanol, a renewable fuel pushed by US farmers but which many environmentalists consider nearly as harmful to the environment as petrol.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said maize-based ethanol, which is already produced in many mid-western US states, would act as a 'bridge' to cleaner bio-fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, that are not yet readily available.
Obama also announced some 800 million dollars in new funding for bio-fuels research and the creation of the Biofuels Interagency Working Group, which will coordinate efforts across government departments.
The EPA's ruling calls for 36 billion gallons (136 billion liters) per year of bio-fuels to be blended into petrol by 2022, up from 11 billion gallons expected to be produced this year. The decision mirrors a similar target set by the US Congress in 2007.
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