According to government officials, President Biden announced today two policies aimed at reducing vehicle emissions and promoting the spread of electric vehicles in order to tackle climate change and defeat Chinese manufacturers. intend to do something.
The long-awaited move has led to one of the strongest climate regulations in the United States to date, with the goal of making 50% of all vehicles sold by 2030 electric vehicles. Government officials praised the plan as a “paradigm shift.”
However, some climate experts have stated that policies have not reached what is needed to stop catastrophic warming, and critics have called Biden’s efforts more powerful actions in Europe and other countries. He said he couldn’t compare.
The first prongs of the administration’s plan are aimed at restoring greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for former President Barack Obama, a small car rolled back by former President Trump. The proposed rules will be jointly set by the EPA and departments within the transport sector to phase out fuel efficiency requirements until model year 2026.
The president will also set the goal of half of all car sales becoming an electric model within nine years, with auto industry officials and union representatives signing an adjacent executive order. Eligible vehicles include electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, batteries and fuel cell EVs.
The order also directs federal agencies to begin drafting fuel economy standards for vehicles manufactured after 2026.
According to experts, these new tailpipe regulations are essential to achieving Biden’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Transportation is the country’s largest source of greenhouse gases, with automobiles accounting for the majority of its carbon pollution.
General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis NV, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, praised Biden’s plans to sign an executive order, but to provide a firm commitment to reach the 50% EV target. Couldn’t. The two companies said they have “a common desire to achieve 40-50% of annual US electric vehicle sales.”
“Our recent product, technology and investment announcements highlight our collective commitment to becoming a leader in the transition to electric vehicles in the United States,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
Under the Obama administration, car companies were required to improve fuel economy by 5% each year until 2026. However, Trump reduced that rate to 1.5% each year. Trump has also abolished California’s legal authority to set its own standards for the Biden administration to work on recovery.
In 2019, five car companies, Ford, BMW, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Volkswagen AG and Volvo, will negotiate with competitors to increase the number of miles traveled per gallon by 3.7% annually with California. Tie.
Biden’s proposed rules apply the California framework to model year 2023 and raise mileage standards to 5% in 2025 and at least 5% in 2026.
Paul Bledsoe, strategic adviser to the Progressive Policy Institute, said the proposed rules were “aggressive.”
Bledsoe, a consultant to the Department of Energy under the Obama administration and working on climate change under the Clinton administration, said:
“Regulation is just a backstop to what should be an attempt to transform the industry as a whole through consumer demand and technological advances.”
But Dan Sperling, a member of the California Air Resources Board, said the standards aren’t strong enough to motivate automakers to increase EV sales.
“This is a sideshow of the transition to electric vehicles,” he said. “Other countries have much stricter standards and much more aggressive commitment to EVs, including Europe and China.”
The European Union has proposed banning the sale of gasoline engines by 2035, according to a report by the International Energy Agency released earlier this year. This is a necessary step to stop catastrophic warming (Climatewire, May 18th).
California and Massachusetts have also promised to discontinue gasoline vehicles by 2035, with at least 11 other states considering it.
Holly Burke, Communications Director of Evergreen Action, said:
Under current federal policy Rhodium group analysis EV sales are projected to reach 11% to 19% of new car purchases by 2026.
By 2031, Rhodium has discovered that EVs are on track to reach 27% to 39% of new car purchases.
“And that’s what frustrates me [the benchmarks are] It’s far below where it’s needed and less ambitious than it seems easy, “Burke said.
Biden bases EV on his climate agenda. But he made some difficult promises about how he wanted to reshape transportation.
He campaigned for specific goals to reach zero net emissions in environmental justice, the electricity sector, buildings, and the economy as a whole. During his tenure, he set a stronger benchmark for national decarbonization.
However, his transport goals remain difficult to identify. This is the opposite of what it should be, says environmentalists. The president has greater power over transport emissions than most other sectors.
“The car is one of the places where Biden can move the needle most of all he can do to the climate through his existing authorities,” Burke said.
Biden’s car rulemaking is in line with the issue of his EV agenda in Congress.
Biden promised to build 500,000 EV charging stations, but the White House began to downplay its commitment after funding was cut from bipartisan infrastructure transactions.
The spending package is expected to provide $ 7.5 billion for EV chargers. This is half of what the government planned, but some officials believe it is still sufficient to reach Biden’s charger goals.
Reprinted from E & E News With permission from POLITICO and LLC. Copyright 2021. E & E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-tightens-vehicle-emissions-standards/ Biden tightens vehicle emission standards
