By 2032, the Biden administration wants to have all-electric vehicles makeup two-thirds of new cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the country.
By Mehran Mazari
In Washington, The Biden administration unveiled on Wednesday two ideas that would mandate that by 2032, two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the country would be entirely electric.
The new regulations would necessitate nothing less than a revolution in the American auto industry, a turning point comparable in some ways to the morning in June of 1896 when Henry Ford tested his "horseless carriage" and forever altered American life and business.
The government's challenge to automakers is significant; only 5.8% of new cars sold in the US last year were all-electric. Less than 2% of new heavy trucks were all-electric, making them even rarer.
Almost all of the big manufacturers have already spent billions on the development of electric vehicles while continuing to produce the conventional gasoline-powered vehicles that provide their profits. The proposed laws would force them to make greater investments and realign their business practices, thereby putting an end to the internal combustion engine.
The two proposed measures would put the largest economy in the world on track to reduce its emissions that contribute to global warming at the rate that scientists say is necessary for all countries in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Michael S. Regan, said in a statement, "By proposing the most aggressive pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris administration's promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families.
The E.P.A. cannot compel automakers to sell a specific volume of electric cars. However, the agency is allowed to restrict the pollution produced by the total number of automobiles each manufacturer sells under the Clean Air Act. And the agency might set that target so stringently that selling a specific percentage of zero-emissions vehicles is the only way manufacturers can comply.
Those who believe the proposed regulations represent government overreach will undoubtedly file legal challenges against them.
According to Steven G. Bradbury, former chief legal counsel for the Transportation Department under the Trump administration, "they are using this established longstanding statute for an entirely new purpose, to force an entirely new goal — the transformation of the industry to electric vehicles." "The president's directive to attain these objectives is certainly the driving force behind this. I doubt that you can accomplish this. The employment of laws in this manner was never anticipated by Congress.
The goal of the proposed tailpipe pollution limitations for cars is to have 67 percent of new light-duty passenger vehicle sales, from sedans to pickup trucks, be all-electric by 2032, as first reported by The New York Times on Saturday. Additionally, by the same year, 46% of new medium-duty truck sales—including those of delivery vans—will be made up of electric or other emission-free vehicles.
A similar rule for heavy-duty vehicles was also put up by the E.P.A., with the goal of having 25% of new heavy trucks and 50% of new buses sold as all-electric by 2032.
In total, the two regulations would reduce carbon dioxide emissions produced over a two-year period by all economic sectors in the United States, the world's second-highest polluter behind China.
However, several autoworkers and manufacturers worry that the Biden administration's plan for an all-electric car transition would go too far, too quickly, and will lead to job losses and poorer earnings.
Major automakers have made significant investments in electrification, but they are concerned about the demand for the more expensive all-electric vehicles, the availability of batteries, and the pace at which a nationwide network of charging stations can be established.
Autoworkers worry about job losses since it takes fewer workers to manufacture electric automobiles than vehicles with internal combustion engines.
Automakers and union employees have been raising similar anxieties directly to the president since 2021 when Mr. Biden released an executive order mandating government measures to ensure that 50 percent of all new passenger vehicle sales be all-electric by 2030.
As word began to spread last week that his new regulations were planned to go still further, some automakers pushed back.
The head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, John Bozzella, who represents significant domestic and international automakers, questioned how the E.P.A. could justify "exceeding the carefully considered and data-driven goal announced by the administration in the executive order."
Yes, America's transition to a low-carbon and electric transportation future is well underway, according to Mr. Bozzella. "E.V. and battery manufacturing is rising up across the country because manufacturers have self-financed billions to boost car electrification. Additionally, the E.P.A.'s proposed emissions plan is unquestionably aggressive.
"Remember this: A lot has to go right for this massive — and unprecedented — change in our automotive market and industrial base to succeed," Mr. Bozzella advised.
To set the strictest, attainable tailpipe emission regulations, engineers and scientists at the E.P.A. have been working over the past year to estimate how far electric vehicle technology is likely to go in the coming ten years.
According to three persons with knowledge of the situation, the Biden administration was forced to reschedule its proposal launch, which led to tensions between the auto sector and the administration.
Initially, it was intended for Mr. Regan to make the policy announcements in Detroit, surrounded by all-electric vehicles that were produced in the United States.
But as car executives and the United Car Workers heard the details of the planned legislation, some were concerned about publicly endorsing them, according to the people familiar with their thinking. The location was changed from Detroit to the E.P.A.'s Washington offices, where Mr. Regan made the proposed regulations official on Wednesday morning.
In an interview, Mr. Regan admitted that some auto executives and officials of the United Auto Workers had expressed alarm over the measures — adding that they could be altered to ease those fears.
"We're very mindful that this is a proposal, and we want to give as much flexibility possible," he said. The agency will solicit public opinions on the proposed guidelines before they are finalized next year. The rules would take effect starting with the model year 2027.
Environmentalists commended Mr. Biden for delivering on a promise he made during his first days in office, when he called climate change a "moral imperative, an economic imperative" that would be key to all his decision-making.
The International Energy Agency concluded that in order to prevent average global temperatures from rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) beyond preindustrial levels, nations would have to stop selling new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Beyond that, according to scientists, humanity would find it far more difficult to cope with the effects of extreme heat waves, flooding, droughts, crop failures, and species extinction. Averaging out, the earth has already warmed by around 1.1 degrees Celsius.
Mr. Biden has promised to stop releasing carbon dioxide into the environment by 2050 and to decrease the nation's emissions by half by 2030. He made a huge step towards attaining that aim last summer when he signed the Inflation Reduction Act. It includes $370 billion in spending for climate change mitigation over the following ten years, including tax breaks of up to $7,500 for electric car purchases made in the United States.
According to projections, that bill will only help the US reduce emissions by 40% by 2030, falling short of Mr. Biden's target. If implemented as planned, the new E.P.A. regulations, according to experts, are required to achieve Mr. Biden's objective.
"The EPA standards are a huge step forward in addressing the largest source of climate pollution: transportation," said Luke Tonachel, senior director of the clean vehicles and buildings program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an organization that promotes environmental protection. "If the toughest standards are approved, it will put the United States on a path to stop tailpipe pollution, which is crucial to achieving both our climate and public health goals."
According to Mr. Tonachel, a dramatic increase in electric car sales in the US could lead to more electric vehicle sales and availability outside the country. Putting the globe on a much-needed road to reducing global pollution from transportation, he stated, "This can be a world-leading standard."
The European Climate Foundation's CEO, Laurence Tubiana, who assisted in negotiating the 2015 Paris climate agreement, applauded the E.P.A.'s move.
"This is confirmation to the world of the seriousness of Joe Biden's engagement on climate change and keeps the U.S. as a front-runner on climate," said Ms. Tubiana. It is being warmly received throughout the world including in Europe.
