By MATTHEW DALY and TOM KRISHER (Associated Press)
The Biden administration has announced new standards for vehicle emissions that officials say are the most ambitious plan to reduce emissions from cars.
The new rules are less strict than the original proposed limits but eventually aim for the same high standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The rules come as sales of electric vehicles, necessary to meet the standards, have started to decrease. The auto industry objected to the EPA's preferred standards unveiled last April as part of its plan to cut emissions from cars.
According to the EPA's final rule, the industry could meet the limits if 56% of new vehicle sales are electric by 2032, along with at least 13% plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars, as well as more efficient gasoline-powered cars that get more miles per gallon.
This would be a large increase compared to current EV sales, which rose to 7.6% of new vehicle sales last year, up from 5.8% in 2022.
The new standards will prevent more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide nearly $100 billion in annual net benefits, including lower health care costs, fewer deaths and more than $60 billion in reduced annual costs for fuel, maintenance and repairs.
President Joe Biden, who has made fighting climate change a focus of his presidency, referred to “historic progress” on his pledge that half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. will be zero-emission by 2030.
“We’ll meet my goal for 2030 and move forward in the years ahead,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
The EPA rule applies to model years 2027 to 2032 and will significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollution from new passenger cars, light trucks and pickups.
Cars and trucks are the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the EPA said the new rule will help address the climate crisis while speeding up the use of cleaner vehicle technologies. The agency is finalizing the rule as sales of clean vehicles hit record highs last year.
The new rule delays the implementation of stricter pollution standards from 2027 through 2029, after the auto industry called the proposed benchmarks unworkable. The rule aims to almost reach the level the EPA preferred by 2032.
“Our final rule achieves the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we proposed,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. In addition to reducing carbon pollution, the final standards will also decrease other serious air pollution that contributes to health issues, Regan said.
Joe Biden stated that these new standards are very important for the health of the public, American jobs, the economy, and the planet.
Regan mentioned that the standards are meant to allow car and truck makers to choose the best pollution-control technologies for their customers while meeting environmental and public health goals.
The changes seem to be aimed at dealing with industry and labor opposition to the increased use of EVs, as well as public reluctance to fully embrace the new technology. There is also a legitimate threat of legal challenges before conservative courts.
The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly limited the powers of federal agencies, such as the EPA, in recent years. The justices have restricted the EPA's authority to combat air and water pollution — including a significant 2022 decision that limited the EPA's power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants contributing to global warming.
At the same time, the Democratic president needs cooperation from the auto industry and political support from auto workers, a crucial voting bloc.
Biden mentioned that American workers will take the lead in producing clean cars and trucks, each labeled 'Made in America.'
The United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed Biden, said it supports rules that benefit workers and the environment, not just the industry. The new rule protects workers who build combustion engine vehicles while allowing automakers to implement a full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions.
Environmental groups have generally been optimistic about the new EPA plan, which aims to reduce emissions from a source responsible for one-fifth of the nation's carbon pollution.
David Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the rule would significantly decrease vehicle pollution compared to current requirements. However, the standards are less strict than those proposed by the EPA a year ago, making it unlikely that the U.S. will meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
Nevertheless, over time the new rules will prevent more carbon pollution than the entire U.S. economy emits in a year, according to Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. In the short term, the rules will save drivers money at the pump and reduce tailpipe pollution that poses a threat to public health.
He stated that these standards are a step in the right direction in the longer journey to address the climate crisis.
Amanda Leland, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund, referred to this as a day to celebrate American achievement. She mentioned that the new EPA rule will reduce climate and air pollution and bring more savings for consumers as well as a healthier future for our children.
But Dan Becker from the Center for Biological Diversity is worried that loopholes will allow the industry to keep selling gas burners. He is also concerned that the industry might not have to do much in the first three years of the standards, which could be reversed if former President Donald Trump gets reelected.
“The bottom line is that the administration is giving in to pressure from big oil, big auto, and the dealers to delay progress on EVs and permit more pollution from cars,” said Becker.
Republicans criticized the new standards, arguing that they effectively dictate which vehicles the public should purchase. “These regulations represent yet another step toward an unrealistic transition to electric vehicles that Americans do not want and cannot afford,” stated West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
She and other Republicans, as well as some in the auto industry, have labeled the rule as an EV mandate, but Regan and White House officials pushed back on that.
“Some may wish for it to be an EV mandate, but that is clearly not the case when you consider the various pathways companies can choose to comply with the rule,” said Regan. “We are staying well within the boundaries of the law and our legal authority by not mandating a specific technology.”
The EPA could meet its carbon pollution targets even if sales of battery electric vehicles are as low as 30% in 2032, as long as other standards are met, according to him.
U.S. electric vehicle sales increased by 47% last year to a record 1.19 million as EV market share grew to 7.6%. However, EV sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.
The Alliance for Auto Innovation, a major industry trade group, commended the EPA’s slower implementation of the standards, stating that the pace of the EV transition is crucial as the industry strives to produce more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to convert more travel miles to electricity. The group had expressed concern that the ramp-up to 67% initially proposed by the EPA was too rapid for the industry to achieve. The proposal was faster than Biden’s goal of ensuring that EVs represent half of new vehicles in the U.S. by 2030.
“Slowing down the pace of EV adoption was the right decision because it prioritizes more achievable electrification targets in the next few, very critical years of the transition,” said John Bozzella, the Alliance CEO.
Bozzella mentioned that the adjusted emissions targets will still be challenging for the industry to accomplish, but they should allow the market and parts supply chains to keep up with higher EV sales. The plan also provides the industry with more time to establish public charging stations, and it enables government tax incentives for EV manufacturing and for consumers to purchase EVs to take effect, he said.
Toyota, the leading seller of hybrid vehicles in the U.S., stated that it believes the quickest way to rapidly reduce carbon emissions is to offer consumers options of battery electric vehicles and hybrids. The new EPA standards permit more sales of plug-in hybrids and regular gas-electric hybrids to meet emissions limits.
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AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher reported from Detroit.
