Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new rules for vehicle emissions in an effort to fight climate change and get more people to drive electric cars.
The agency’s “more stringent” rules would cut greenhouse gas emissions from light-duty cars by 56%, from medium-duty vehicles by 44%, and from heavy-duty vehicles by the same amount. The goal of the suggested law is to change the market so that by 2032, at least 66 percent of all new sales of light-duty vehicles and about 50 percent of new sales of medium-duty vehicles are electric cars.
In a news release, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the agency was “delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to protect people and the planet” by offering the “most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks.” These guidelines would “secure critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensure significant economic benefits,” such as lower fuel and maintenance costs for families. President Biden said, “These ambitious standards are easily attainable thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is already driving historic progress to make more electric cars in the U.S. and keep the U.S. competitive around the world.”
The suggestions are the result of a two-year push by the White House for stricter rules and more laws to support electric cars and a wider shift toward renewable energy. As part of its “whole-of-government effort” to cut down on carbon emissions and support green energy, the Biden administration has also made it harder for gas stoves, central air conditioners, and manufactured homes to pollute the air.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that their new rules will save up to $1.6 trillion over the next 30 years by cutting carbon dioxide pollution by 10 billion tons. Some people, though, say that this would go against the public’s desire for reliable and cheap standard cars.
O. H. Skinner, the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, was quoted in The Daily Wire as saying, “With this new set of proposals, the Biden administration wants to use government power as a weapon to take gas-powered cars and trucks off the market and replace them with cars that are popular in liberal bastions.” People should be able to expect more. The government shouldn’t force people to believe and act in liberal ways. We are yelling, “Enough of this nonsense from Biden and his activist friends who are trying to force their progressive worldview on businesses and customers who don’t know what’s going on.”
But only 19% of Americans are “extremely likely” or “very likely” to buy an electric car when they buy their next car. This is what made the bold plans necessary. The Associated Press and the National Opinion study Center were the ones who did the study. Most people didn’t want to buy electric cars because they were too expensive, there weren’t enough charging points, they preferred gas cars, they were worried about how long it would take to charge, and they didn’t trust the battery technology that was available at the time.
Concerns about electric cars could make it harder for the EPA’s rules and similar efforts by states to get everyone to use the new technology. Last year, the California Air Resources Board made rules that require 35% of all new cars in the state to be zero-emission by 2026. By 2030, this number will rise to 68%, and by 2035, it will be 100%. Some state governments, like those in Massachusetts, Washington, and Virginia, have passed laws that all companies must follow.
Last month, the California Air Resources Board asked the EPA to make two exceptions to two federal standards so that the state could enforce its rule that all new heavy-duty cars sold after 2045 have to be emission-free.