Politics

‘Truly Historic’: Biden EPA Introduces New Regulations To Force Electric Vehicle Transition

The Biden administration rolled out a series of new emissions regulations for passenger vehicles and light trucks that it said would “unlock” $190 billion in benefits for American consumers.

The regulations will be enforced beginning with 2023 car models and will be revised with more stringent standards in 2027, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. The EPA said the new emissions standards would ultimately quicken the transition from traditional engine vehicles to zero-emission cars.

“This day is truly historic,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said during an event on Monday.

“At EPA, our priority is to protect public health, especially in overburdened communities, while responding to the President’s ambitious climate agenda,” Regan said in a statement prior to the event. “Today we take a giant step forward in delivering on those goals, while paving the way toward an all-electric, zero-emissions transportation future.”

The standards are the “most ambitious” rules of their kind ever put into place, the EPA said. They are projected to cut car emissions by 3 billion tons over the next three decades, the equivalent of half the carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. per year.

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The rule announced Monday will also lead to 15% less gasoline consumption nationwide, according to the agency.

“Today’s action is a tremendous step in the right direction in our fight against the climate crisis,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone said in a statement. “Paired with the investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law, this action will accelerate the process of transforming our transportation sector to the benefit of public health and the environment.”

“I applaud the Biden EPA for meaningfully addressing the climate crisis once again, and I look forward to continuing to work with the administration to swiftly and ambitiously tackle climate pollution from the rest of the transportation sector,” Pallone added.

The action Monday is the latest move in the Biden administration’s crusade against climate change which aims to lean heavily on pushing Americans to buy electric vehicles. President Joe Biden has outlined a plan to ensure 50% of new car sales are electric by 2030 and that every addition to the federal governments’ vehicle fleet is electric by 2035.