Biden’s EPA Proposes Tough New Emission Rules, Targeting Auto Industry

As many as two-thirds of all new cars and trucks sold in the US by 2032 would be electric-powered vehicles (EV) under strict new rules. The Biden administration proposed the rules. That would be 10 times the number of EVs sold today.

The new rules were offered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are the strongest effort yet by Biden's administration to make people in the US use fewer gas-powered cars. 

Biden is trying to cut US carbon emissions in half by 2030. But it is uncertain whether the car industry can hit that goal. The strict emission regulations should force car makers to start making more EVs. 

The proposed standards don’t specifically call for a certain number of EVs to be sold every year. Instead, they place limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Those cause climate change. To meet such standards, the EPA estimates that at least 60% of new passenger cars sold in the US would be electric by 2030. That number could rise as high as 67% by 2032.

An EPA official said the goals are  “the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks.” He added that it would help US buyers in ways they might not see quite yet. It would reduce pollution. The plan would also lower car repair costs for families, he said.

Auto industry executives said hitting the goals would be hard. But they recognized an EV future is arriving fast. “The question isn’t can this be done, it’s how fast can it be done,” the CEO of an automotive trade group wrote. 

Photo from Reuters.