President Joe Biden has unveiled the most stringent regulation ever imposed in the United States regarding vehicle exhaust emissions to expedite the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicles.
By 2032, 56% of all newly sold vehicles in the United States must be electric, a significant increase from current levels.
As an accommodation to the automotive industry, the objective was lowered compared to the previous year’s proposal.
Despite this, the Biden administration maintains that it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the regulation that goes into effect on Wednesday will avert 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every 30 years.
The quantity of pollution allowed from vehicle exhausts is progressively restricted with each passing year under the new protocol.
Automobile makers that fail to comply with the revised criteria will be subject to significant financial penalties.
Organizations may continue to manufacture gasoline-powered vehicles, provided their proportion of the overall product portfolio continues to decline.
The United States adopts a more moderate stance compared to the European Union and the United Kingdom, both of which intend to prohibit the sale of petrol-powered vehicles beginning in 2035.
Last year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that the prohibition would be delayed by five years from its original deadline of 2030.
The American auto industry cited sluggish EV sales growth while objecting to a rule draft from the previous year that would have mandated electric vehicle (EV) sales to comprise 67% of all new cars sold by 2032.
Last year, EVs accounted for less than 8% of all new car sales.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group, expressed satisfaction with the gradual implementation but maintained that the objective remained “extraordinarily ambitious.”
While the measure was generally well-received by environmental groups, certain activists were disappointed that it was not more stringent.
However, legal challenges to the regulations are anticipated by the oil industry and states governed by Republicans. The Supreme Court may resolve the matter in the end.Mr. Biden must navigate a political tightrope, as the policy demonstrates.
In addition to addressing climate change, a significant concern for many Democrats, the president is attempting to win over automobile workers in the potentially decisive state of Michigan as he vies for re-election against his Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump has pledged to repeal environmental regulations enacted by Mr. Biden if he is elected in November.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt, stated that the regulations “will destroy the US auto industry while compelling Americans to purchase prohibitively expensive vehicles they do not want or can afford.”
Last year, the mean selling price of an electric vehicle (EV) was approximately $53,500, as reported by the trade publication Kelly Blue Book. This figure represents an increase of $5,000 in comparison to gasoline-powered vehicles.
An approximate mean yearly income in the United States is $59,000.
Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives for the Republican Party, also criticized the policy, describing it as “another radical, anti-energy crusade that will devastate automakers, restrict consumer options, and increase costs for American families.”
