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| Wed, 12th Apr 2023 14:42:00 |
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Biden’s new vehicle emissions rules could speed the EV revolution |
Although the global market for electric vehicles has surged over the past decade, EVs still account for only a small percentage of new cars sold in the United States. Since 2014, their domestic market share has risen from around 1 percent to around 6 percent. The Biden administration has far bigger plans for the next eight years: Under a sweeping set of vehicle emissions rules unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, EVs would make up as much as two-thirds of all U.S. car sales by 2031 — a more than tenfold increase from current levels.
The EPA’s new pollution standards target conventional passenger cars, vans, and pickup trucks. They set much stricter emission limits for planet-warming gasses like carbon dioxide and methane as well as toxic pollutants like nitrogen oxide. When the vehicle emissions rules take effect, new automobiles will be allowed to spew less than half as much carbon as they can now. A separate set of rules will limit carbon emissions from larger heavy-duty trucks.
In theory, auto manufacturers can choose how they achieve compliance, but the EPA believes many of them will opt to manufacture EVs rather than trying to design combustion vehicles that meet the new standards. Automakers like Ford and General Motors have already claimed they plan to phase out production of gasoline-powered cars, but these rules would speed up their timelines. If they work as designed, the regulations would avert the equivalent of more than two full years of current U.S. carbon emissions.
But that’s a big “if.”
Read original full article
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