The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced its intention to rescind rules put in place under the Biden administration, which required automakers to increase production of electric vehicles. The move marks another step in the Trump administration's efforts to reverse its predecessor's carbon emissions policies.
Fewer targets for electric vehicles
The EPA is considering revising the 2024 regulations that aimed to reduce light-duty vehicle emissions by nearly 50 percent by 2032 compared with projected 2027 levels. Under these rules, between 35 and 56 percent of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 must be electric.
While Ford has supported these targets, other automakers remain cautious about the costs of transitioning to electrification.
Easing up on heavy-duty vehicles
The EPA also wants to reverse a 2022 regulation aimed at drastically reducing emissions from heavy-duty trucks. This measure, which imposed standards 80-percent stricter than previous ones, was expected to prevent up to 2,900 premature deaths a year and generate $29 billion in annual net benefits.
The Trump administration has submitted Biden's approval of California's plan to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 to Congress, in the hope of a repeal. At the same time, Republicans are seeking to eliminate tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles.
Reduced fuel economy standards
In January, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced his intention to rescind the fuel economy standards established under Biden. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had planned to increase CAFE requirements to 50.4 mpg (4.67L/100 km) by 2031, from the current 39.1 mpg. That measure aimed to reduce consumption of 64 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce emissions by 659 million metric tons of CO2 by 2050.
An uncertain future for electrification
The new initiatives make the future of the transition to electric vehicles in the U.S. look increasingly uncertain. If the changes are adopted, automakers could revise their strategies and slow the development of electric models in favour of combustion and hybrid powertrains. And of course, those 64 extra billion gallons of fossil fuels will be consumed, and all those metric tons of CO2 will be sent into the air.