Clinton clears way for cleaner transport

President Clinton has announced plans to reduce pollution from millions of diesel-powered commercial vehicles by the end of the decade.

He said the measures would extend the latest pollution control technology to all new trucks and buses produced in the United States, making them ninety-five percent cleaner than current models.

He said it would prevent thousands of cases of respiratory illness and premature deaths.

But the move is strongly opposed by the oil industry, which argues that it cannot afford the cost of improving refineries or guarantee the availability of the sulphur-free fuels needed to make the scheme work.

The BBC Washington correspondent says the energy groups will hope that the incoming president, George W Bush -- himself a former oil man -- will prove a sympathetic listener.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service