US Government proposes big emissions reduction for cars

The Biden administration has proposed what is being called one of the most aggressive emissions reduction plans in the United States (US) as it pushes carmakers to create and sell more electric vehicles (EV).

Proposals have been drawn up for both the production of new light- and medium-duty vehicles such as cars and pick ups, as well as heavy-duty trucks, which seek to avoid the output of nearly 10 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere by 2055.

The emissions targets apply to new internal combustion engine-powered vehicles made for model year 2027 and onward vehicles.

Alongside reducing emissions, the proposal is being made in a bid to accelerate the transition to EVs which the EPA projects could account for 67 per cent of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46 per cent of new medium-duty sales in 2032.

That essentially means that two thirds of cars sold in the US in the next 10 years would have to be electric in order for manufacturers to meet the new targets.

This is even more ambitions than Biden’s previous 2021 goal which looked to make 50 per cent of all new vehicle sales EV or electrified by 2030.

It’s worth noting that there are no plans to ban new ICEs from being sold.

If the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pulls it off, it says the reduction in emissions would provide significant benefits for public health and “lead to fewer premature deaths and serious health effects”.

It adds that the proposed standards would save the average consumer $US12,000 over the lifetime of a light-duty vehicle, as compared to a vehicle that was not subject to the new standards.

Oil imports would also drop by approximately 20 billion barrels while the EPA estimates that the benefits of the proposed standards would exceed costs by at least $US1 trillion.