WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new automobile emissions standards Wednesday that officials called the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.
The new rules relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year but eventually get close to the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The auto industry cited lower sales growth in objecting to the EPA's preferred standards unveiled last April as part of its ambitious plan to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.
The EPA said that under its final rule, the industry could meet the limits if 56% of new vehicle sales are electric by 2032, along with at least 13% plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars, as well as more efficient gasoline-powered cars that get more miles to the gallon.
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That would be a huge increase over current EV sales, which rose to 7.6% of new vehicle sales last year, up from 5.8% in 2022.
The new standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide almost $100 billion in annual net benefits, the EPA said, including lower health care costs, fewer deaths and more than $60 billion in reduced annual costs for fuel, maintenance and repairs.
President Joe Biden cited "historic progress" on his pledge that half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. will be zero-emission by 2030.
"We'll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead," Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
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The EPA proposal
The EPA rule applies to model years 2027 to 2032 and will significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, as well as other air pollution such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from new passenger cars, light trucks and pickups.
Transportation makes up the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and cars and trucks account for more than half of those emissions.
The EPA said the new rule will help "tackle the climate crisis" while accelerating the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. The agency is finalizing the rule as sales of clean vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, hit record highs last year.
The new rule slows implementation of stricter pollution standards from 2027 through 2029, after the auto industry called proposed benchmarks unworkable. The rule ramps up to almost reach the level the EPA preferred by 2032.
"Our final rule delivers the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we set out in our proposal," EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters. In addition to carbon pollution, the final standards also will reduce other serious air pollution that contributes to heart attacks, respiratory illnesses, aggravated asthma and decreased lung function, Regan said.
"Folks, these new standards are so important for public health, for American jobs, for our economy and for our planet," he said.
The standards are designed to be technology-neutral and performance-based, Regan said, giving car and truck manufacturers the flexibility to choose pollution-control technologies that are best suited for their customers while meeting environmental and public health goals.
Environmental concerns
Generally, environmental groups have been optimistic about the new EPA plan, which is aimed at slashing emissions from a source that causes one-fifth of the nation's carbon pollution.
David Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the rule would significantly reduce vehicle pollution from current requirements. But the standards are weaker than those EPA proposed a year ago and make it unlikely that the U.S. will be able to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which aims to keep global warming from increasing more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, he said.
Still, the new rules over time will prevent more carbon pollution "than the entire U.S. economy coughs up in a year," said Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. In the short term, the rules "will save drivers money at the pump and cut tailpipe pollution that endangers public health," he added.
"In the longer journey to confront the climate crisis, these standards take us in the right direction," he said.
Dan Becker at the Center for Biological Diversity said he fears loopholes will let the industry continue to sell gas burners. He also is afraid the industry will get away with doing little during the first three years of the standards, which could be undone if former President Donald Trump is reelected.
"The bottom line is that the administration is caving to pressure from big oil, big auto and the dealers to stall progress on EVs and now allow more pollution from cars," Becker said.
Why the change?
The changes appear aimed at addressing strong industry and labor opposition to the accelerated ramp-up of EVs, along with public reluctance to fully embrace the new technology. There is also a legitimate threat of legal challenges before conservative courts.
The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly reined in the powers of federal agencies, including the EPA, in recent years. The justices restricted the EPA's authority to fight air and water pollution — including a landmark 2022 ruling that limited the EPA's authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.
At the same time, the Democratic president needs cooperation from the auto industry and political support from auto workers, a key political voting bloc.
"U.S. workers will lead the world on autos — making clean cars and trucks, each stamped 'Made in America,'" Biden said Wednesday. "You have my word."
The United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed Biden, said it supports rules that benefit workers and the environment, not just the industry. The new rule protects workers who build combustion engine vehicles "while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions," the union said.