The Biden administration has finalized a long-awaited proposed environmental regulation that would curb tailpipe emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles as part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming.
In a joint announcement Wednesday, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the most aggressive combined pollutant emission standards finalized to date. Although the regulation targets gasoline-powered vehicles, it is explicitly aimed at promoting the nationwide adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), with officials predicting that within a few years, nearly 70% of all new car sales will be zero-emission vehicles. It is expected that it will become a popular vehicle. .
“President Biden is investing in America, American workers, and the unions that built the middle class and established the American auto sector as a world leader,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said in a statement. said. “The president’s policies are working.”
“With transportation being the largest source of climate change emissions in the United States, these strongest-ever pollution standards for vehicles will advance President Biden’s historic climate change policies while ensuring a clean transportation future.” and solidify America’s leadership in building good-paying American jobs,” the EPA Administrator added. Michael Regan.
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President Biden (left) and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. (Getty Images)
Under the new regulations, which will be formally announced at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., late Wednesday afternoon. car manufacturers will be forced to Immediately reduce greenhouse gas, hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter emissions from new passenger cars, light trucks, large pickups, and vans starting with the 2027 model year.
Government officials say the regulations will help “tack on the climate crisis” by reducing the transport sector’s carbon emissions by a staggering 7.2 billion tonnes over the plan period, which runs through 2032. That’s what it means. Officials also spoke to reporters. Reporters called the regulation would reduce the amount of oil consumed in the United States by billions of barrels within 30 years.
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Tailpipe emissions regulations will force automakers to increase production and sales of EVs, plug-in hybrids, conventional hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles. Officials say that under one of the “lower cost” models outlined in the EPA’s rules, automakers will be able to make 56% of their light-duty vehicle sales by 2032 battery-electric, with an additional 13% hybrid. He said he would be required to have a car.
This regulation represents a version of the so-called “Alternative C” approach detailed in EPA’s original proposal, which was first published in April 2023. The White House originally predicted last year that batteries would account for up to 67% of new car sales under the regulation, but after a lengthy public comment period and meetings with automakers and labor groups, it scaled back the regulation.
President Biden said Wednesday that EPA regulations will ensure the goal of 50% of all new vehicle sales being electric by 2030. (Anna Moneymaker/Pool/Getty Images | Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
“Three years ago, I set an ambitious goal for half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 to be zero-emission vehicles,” President Biden said in a statement. “I rallied America’s automakers. I rallied America’s autoworkers. Together, we made historic progress. We built hundreds of new factories across the country. We’ve expanded. We’ve created hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we’re on track to meet our 2030 goals and move forward in the years ahead. I think so.”
The EPA’s rules are a scaled-down version of what the agency proposed last year, especially in the early stages of regulation, but industry groups and Republican lawmakers said the end result would remain the same. They argue that this regulation will reduce consumer choice and lead to higher costs overall.
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In a joint statement Wednesday, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturer President and CEO Chet Thompson and the American Petroleum Institute said: Mike Somers, President and CEO He called on Congress to intervene and block the plan.
“As millions of Americans struggle with high costs and inflation, the Biden administration has finalized regulations that will specifically remove most new gasoline-powered vehicles and traditional hybrid vehicles from the U.S. market within 10 years.” they said. “While the President and EPA claim they have ‘relaxed’ their approach, nothing could be further from the truth.”
“This regulation will make new gasoline-powered vehicles either unavailable or prohibitively expensive for most Americans,” the two industry leaders continued. “To them, this deeply unpopular policy will feel and function like a prohibition.”
Even after generous federal and state subsidies, the average cost of an EV is about $52,500, while the average price of a gasoline subcompact is $24,000, according to the Automotive Innovation Coalition. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In addition to energy groups, a wide range of industry groups representing farmers, consumers, and auto dealers have similarly warned about the impact of EPA’s regulations.
“This decision will not only significantly hinder the administration’s ability to meet its own climate goals, but will also hurt family farms and rural communities that rely heavily on biofuel sales. .And it would take consumer choice out of the market,” said Harold Wohrle, president of the National Corn Growers Association.
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Last year, 9.3% of total vehicle purchases in the U.S. were electric or plug-in hybrids, up from 7% in 2022, according to the Automotive Innovation Coalition, an industry group representing major automakers. This increase was primarily driven by car purchases. California and urban areas where the majority of EV purchases occur.
At the same time, EVs are still much more expensive than traditional gasoline cars. Even after generous federal and state subsidies, the average cost of an EV is about $52,500, while the average subcompact car costs $24,000.
Michigan Republican Rep. Tim Walberg (left) and Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde introduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act in July. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote in December. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
John Bozella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said Wednesday that the EPA’s adjusted EV target is “still a stretch,” but higher than the goal originally proposed. He said it was reasonable.
“Slowing the pace of EV adoption in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 was the right decision as it prioritizes more reasonable electrification targets in the coming years of the EV transition,” he said. ” he said.
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Additionally, a wide range of Republican lawmakers immediately condemned the regulations and vowed to take action to overturn them before they go into effect.
“The Biden Administration’s approval of an EPA rule that effectively forces Americans to purchase electric vehicles is just one example of the President’s reckless and misinformed regulatory policies,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-P.C. , Iowa) told FOX News Digital. “I urge President Biden to reverse this wrong decision and allow American families to decide which car is best for them. I have to.”
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) recently led a letter from more than 130 Republican lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to repeal the EV mandate. (Rod Lamkey Poole/Getty Images)
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., along with Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, also broke the ban by introducing the Automobile Retail Sales Choice Act in July. The CARS Act, which repeals the EPA’s tailpipe regulations, passed the House in a 221-197 vote in December, but has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.
“No top-down government edict can change consumer demand overnight, but this is exactly what the Biden administration plans to do,” Wahlberg said. “This rule will limit American consumer choice, take millions of dollars out of the market, eliminate American jobs, and forever tie our auto industry to the Chinese Communist Party.”
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In addition, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, have announced new plans to block the regulations finalized Wednesday. He vowed to submit a resolution. They said in a joint statement that the plan was a “delusion” and would require an act of Congress to move forward.
