Biden administration announces sweeping car emissions proposal
The administration of President Joe Biden has proposed new automobile emissions standards that could result in about two thirds of all new vehicles sold in the United States being electric by 2032, in an ambitious bid to reduce emissions and air pollution.
The proposed rules were announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday, with the federal agency stating that the standards would result in a reduction of about 10 billion tonnes of carbon emissions by 2055, the equivalent of about two times the country’s total emissions in 2022.
The EPA announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards that will accelerate the ongoing transition to a clean vehicles future and tackle the climate crisis,” the agency said in a news release on April 12, 2023.
“The proposed standards would improve air quality for communities across the nation, especially communities that have borne the burden of polluted air.”
The rules would subject cars produced between 2027 and 2032 to the most ambitious requirements to date.
They came as the Biden administration has recently faced criticism for falling short on promises to drastically reduce emissions and move the US away from polluting fossil fuels.