EPA proposes strict emission limits

Biden administration has announced on Wednesday it is proposing a new regulation setting pollution limits, hence boosting electric vehicles sales, according to AP news published on Wednesday.

Presented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), newly proposed legislation sets strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions. It is anticipated this would, consequently, boost electric vehicles sales, Reuters reported.

EPA expects at least 60 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. would be electric by 2030. As for medium-duty trucks, the agency expects electric vehicles will constitute around 46 percent of new vehicle sales by 2032.

The exact percentage depends on manufacturers’ compliance and could reach 67 percent for passenger vehicles by 2032, the agency stated.

John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation described the EPA proposal as “aggressive by any measure.”

In the same vein, European car maker Stellantis expressed wonderment about EPA proposal not coming in “align with the president’s previously announced target of 50 percent EVs by 2030.″

On the other hand, former head of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality Margo Oge applauded the proposal. Oge called it “the single most important regulatory initiative by the Biden administration.”

United States is responsible for 28 percent of global carbon emissions, and transportation is its largest emissions source. EPA reported that around 27 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 were caused by transportation.

Stipulated rules in the proposed legislation would decrease greenhouse gas emissions by about 56 percent, the EPA stated. This translates to avoiding nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2055.