New US car and truck emissions standards will make or break Biden’s climate legacy
(Inside Climate News, 12 Apr 2023) Success of the move to force a massive shift to EVs will depend on the willingness of both automakers and consumers to make the switch.
The new U.S. vehicle emissions standards proposed Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency could become the most consequential part of President Joe Biden’s climate legacy—avoiding nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution through 2055.
That would be the equivalent of dialing down the entire U.S. economy to zero CO2 emissions for two years.
But to fulfill the promise of the strongest-ever pollution standards proposed for cars and trucks, the Biden administration is relying on both automakers and consumers to embrace the electric vehicle revolution.
Within a decade, two-thirds of passenger cars, half of freight delivery vehicles and a quarter of heavy trucks purchased would be electric under the plan. In 2022, EVs accounted for just 7 percent of vehicle sales.
Administration officials believe that the goal is reachable thanks in part due to historic multi-billion dollar investments that both the federal government and the auto industry are making in the wake of the clean energy spending bills by Congress, including last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.
External link
Inside Climate News, 12 Apr 2023: New US car and truck emissions standards will make or break Biden’s climate legacyShare this on social media
