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He said it should include energy producers, labor groups, and energy consumers such as GM, working together to negotiate targets. The US is already pressing to meet a government requirement for corporate average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon (23.2 km per liter) by 2025.

Last year, GM said it aimed to produce up to 500,000 vehicles a year with some form of electrification by 2017, including the Volt. On Wednesday, Akerson said that would save 12 billion gallons (45.4 billion liters) of fuel over the life of the vehicles GM builds between 2011 and 2017.

Natural gas as a motor fuel represents a "huge and largely untapped opportunity for commercial fleets and long-haul truckers," Akerson said, adding energy diversity was critical.

Nearly every president since Richard Nixon, he noted, has grappled with high oil costs and the solutions have largely consisted of curbing demand via regulation and incentives to speed the adoption of alternative energy. Policymakers have not established a long-term, cohesive energy policy.

In addition to lighter vehicles and more electrification, GM is investing in advanced materials such as nano steels and carbon fiber, deploying clean diesel engines, rolling out such technologies as turbocharging and direct injection, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing, Akerson said.