Biden looks to fast-track emissions cuts, EV ramp-up ahead of 2025
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[April 13, 2023]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration's proposal on Wednesday
to sharply cut tailpipe emissions and vehicle pollutants is on a fast
track as the future of U.S. auto production could become a presidential
campaign issue next year.
The Environmental Protection Agency is moving with urgency to mandate a
56% cut in vehicle emissions by 2032, a requirement it forecasts will
result in EVs accounting for two of every three new vehicles sold within
a decade.
Democrats say the proposal will save consumers money in refueling costs
and spur U.S. manufacturing, while Republicans are castigating it,
saying it will make cars too expensive and prevent Americans from buying
gas-powered models.
After Donald Trump won the presidency in November 2016, the EPA quickly
finalized a determination that fuel efficiency rules instituted by
then-President Barack Obama should be locked in through 2025.
Under Trump, the EPA reversed that decision and rolled back the Obama
standards, a move that would have increased U.S. oil consumption by
about 500,000 barrels per day by the 2030s.
President Joe Biden reinstated the Obama rules in 2022 mandating a 28.3%
reduction in vehicle emissions by 2026 and in 2021 set a goal of EVs or
plug-in hybrids accounting for 50% of new cars sold by 2030.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/13/images/ads/current/remington_sda_SFARM_2023.png)
Biden, a self-proclaimed "car guy," will accelerate the adoption of
zero-emission vehicles, the White House said on Wednesday. The EPA rules
are also crucial to meeting the administration climate goals.
EPA must finalize its latest standards by early 2024 or a new president
and Congress in 2025 could more easily reverse it.
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![](../images/041323PIX/news_h15.jpg)
New Lexus automobiles are shown
for sale after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state
will ban the sale of new gasoline powered passenger cars and trucks
starting in 2035 in a dramatic move to shift to electric vehicles to
curtail greenhouse gas emissions, in Carlsbad, California, U.S.,
September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/13/images/ads/current/heartland_lda_040123.jpg)
"EPA’s proposed emissions plan is aggressive by any measure," said
John Bozzella, CEO of auto industry trade group Alliance for
Automotive Innovation. "It sets automotive electrification goals in
the next few years that are very high."
Biden has steadfastly refused to back setting a date to end the sale
of internal combustion vehicles and has not endorsed California's
plan to end gasoline-only vehicle sales by 2035.
Biden has said he intends to be the Democratic candidate for
president in 2024 but has not made a formal announcement.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan declined to endorse banning gasoline
vehicle sales. "We're not driving any particular technology out of
business - so to speak," he said on Wednesday.
EPA is also proposing to mandate a 60% cut in so-called criteria
pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, for cars and trucks by 2032.
Some auto officials say privately that EPA's aggressive greenhouse
gas standards, elimination of credits and cuts in criteria
pollutants may make it unfeasible to sell many gasoline models by
2030.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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