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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released stricter automotive emissions targets that encourage a shift away from gas-powered vehicles.
The standards do not ban gas-powered vehicles or explicitly mandate that a certain percentage of new car sales must come from EVs. Instead, they limit the amount of pollutants vehicles can emit—such as carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter—for model years 2027 through 2032.
Transportation is the US' largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and passenger vehicles make up 16.5% of total US emissions, the EPA says, contributing to rising global temperatures. Last year was the warmest year on record, the World Meteorological Organization reports.
Motor vehicle pollution is also a public health issue. It's been linked to "premature death and other serious health impacts, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, and cancer," the EPA says. Children are disproportionately affected by air pollution, according to the American Lung Society. "Clean cars is about saving kids," Amanda Leland, executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund, said at a White House briefing this afternoon.
Automakers "may choose to produce battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for about 30% to 56% of new light-duty vehicle sales," according to the EPA, though the agency "also projects that consumers will see an increase in the availability of other clean vehicle technologies, including hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, as well as cleaner gasoline vehicles."
At 56% EVs, the standards are less aggressive than the Biden administration's initial push to have 60% new vehicle sales from EVs by 2030.
"Strong standards have historically contributed to the US leading the world in the supply of clean technologies, with corresponding benefits for American global competitiveness and domestic employment," the EPA says.
However, "leading the world" might not be entirely true. The Biden administration has been open about China's dominance when it comes to EV production and battery technology, a gap it is working to close by stimulating domestic production through action like this.
The EPA's new rules have been in the works since April 2023. Since then, the agency has "conducted extensive engagement," including three days of virtual public hearings with 240 speakers. The public comment period followed, yielding 250,000 written statements from a range of stakeholders, including automakers, state and local governments, NGOs, labor organizations, environmental groups, suppliers, consumers, academics, and others.
Sales of plug-in hybrid, hybrid, and fully electric vehicles hit record highs last year, which the EPA took as a signal that the public and automakers could be ready for the new rules. "For example, Ford has said that 10% of its F-150 pickup buyers and 56% its Maverick pickup buyers choose the hybrid powertrain option over the ICE version, and that hybrid options will soon be added across its model lineup."
Ford CEO Jim Farley called the rules "ambitious and challenging," though affirmed the company's commitment to lowering CO2 emissions by offering a range of vehicles, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs.
The United Auto Workers also supports the effort, calling it "a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers."
Diversifying its lineup may help Ford and other automakers compete in the "increasingly electrified" global market, the EPA says, citing at least 20 countries that have announced zero-emissions vehicle targets by 2035, including Norway, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Slovenia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Thailand, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Sri Lanka.