CNN
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The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed ambitious new auto pollution rules that could require electric cars to account for up to two-thirds of new cars sold in the United States by 2032, in one of the Biden administration’s most aggressive policies on climate change. Until now.
Exhaust pipe standards will also have the effect of halving global warming pollution from cars. Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the regulations “the strongest federal pollution standards ever for cars and trucks.”
“Together, these actions will accelerate the continued transition to a clean car future, address the climate crisis and improve our air quality for communities across the country,” added Reagan.
EPA officials said they are considering several different emissions proposals, which could lead to anywhere from an EV adoption rate of 64% to 69% by early next decade. If approved, emissions standards would begin in 2027 from the cars.
The agency predicts that the new rule will mean that electric vehicles could also make up nearly half of all new medium-duty vehicles, such as delivery trucks, by the 2032 model year. Officials also propose stronger standards for heavy vehicles, including dump trucks, utility trucks and transit buses. and schools.
One expert told CNN that the Biden administration’s proposal marks a pivotal moment for the US auto industry and consumers.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” said Thomas Boylan, a former EPA official and regulatory director for the Zero Emissions Transportation Association’s e-commerce group. “This is really going to set the tone for the rest of the decade and into the 2030s in terms of what this administration is looking for in the auto industry to do when it comes to decarbonization and ultimately electrification.”
Reagan and White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi hailed the proposed regulations as a big climate win that would also save American consumers money in the coming years.
Al-Zaidi said that in the first few years of the Biden administration, the number of electric vehicles on American roads had already tripled, while the number of public charging stations had doubled. Al-Zaidi pledged more to come, with funding from the Biden Infrastructure Act for a network of electric vehicle charging stations along with consumer tax credits.
“Whether you measure today’s advertising in dollars saved, gallons reduced, or pollution no longer pumped into the air, this is a victory for the American people,” Zaidi said.
However, even as the administration writes tough regulations to push the market toward electric vehicles, A.J The Gallup poll was released Wednesday She points out that Americans aren’t sold on the idea yet. Gallup polled more than 1,000 adults in the US last month and found that 41% said they would not buy an electric car.
Not only are electric vehicles still more expensive than gas-powered cars, the survey concluded, consumers are yet to realize the climate benefits of switching to zero-emission vehicles. Six in 10 respondents said they believed EVs help the environment “just a little bit” or “no help at all,” Gallup reported.
Transportation is the largest source of global warming pollution in the United States, and light vehicles—the average car Americans drive—are responsible for 58% of those emissions. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported last year that drastic and pollution-specific changes to the global transport sector – including the move to electric vehicles – could reduce the sector’s emissions by more than 80%.
“This is what we mean when we say tackling the climate crisis is about creating opportunity — an opportunity to put the United States on a clear path to winning 21st century jobs and industries,” Reagan said.
Other countries, including the European Union and China, are moving faster towards adopting electric vehicles. In the US, California has already proposed that zero-emission vehicles make up 70% of new car sales by 2030, and 17 more states plan to follow suit.
This means that much of the US auto industry will actually transition ahead of the proposed federal law.
“I think it’s very achievable,” said Margo Augie, president of the International Council on Clean Transportation and a former Obama EPA official, of the bold shift to electric vehicles. “The industry is there. Europe is ahead of the US, China is ahead of Europe – and these companies are global companies.”
New federal tax credits will be issued next week intended to help American consumers save up to $7,500 on EVs. But they have incredibly complex requirements for the auto industry — including that car batteries and components come from the United States or countries with which it has a free trade agreement.
However, Boylan said the regulations are designed to work gradually over the next decade, by which time consumers should have a lot more options for electric vehicles to choose from.
“The tax breaks are the carrot,” Boylan said. The proposed tailpipe regulation provides “the stick to support these incentives and move the industry forward.”
The EPA will receive public comment on the proposal before finalizing the rule in the coming months.
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