WASHINGTON, D.C. – After initially releasing proposed rules in spring 2023 and subsequently holding a public comment period in order to fine-tune them, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the final updated guidelines that will be imposed upon model year 2027-to-2032 cars and trucks regarding national pollution standards. The move, the Biden Administration said, is to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 7.2 billion metric tons by 2025, and to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and other pollution-reducing technologies in the automotive industry.
During the 2027-to-2032 period of time, automakers must adhere to a tailpipe admission standard of approximately 80 grams per mile by 2032, which would cut tailpipe pollution about in half, the EPA claims.
Various industry groups have expressed outrage over the new pollution standards and claimed that the Biden Admin is attempting to ban internal combustion engine-powered vehicles. However, the EPA’s new rules do not impose any sort of ban on any vehicle type – including gas – nor do they set specific guidelines regarding EV sales volume, according to White House advisor Ali Zaidi; instead, he said, the rules ae meant to encourage innovation in the automotive industry when it comes to addressing pollution and climate change.
The way these rules work, they are technology neutral, which means that different automakers will approach them in different ways, harnessing a variety of technologies to meet that target of reducing emissions in half over that period of time,” Zaidi said. “What you literally find in the rule is that there are different ways that automakers could comply with the rules. For example, some automakers in 2032 could potentially make a third of their fleet be plug-in-hybrid vehicles, a third be battery-electric, and the rest be a variety of internal-combustion-engine vehicles. [There are] a number of technology tools and choices available to automakers, and I think that’s gonna get reflected in the market.”
The EPA claims that the new rules will have both economic and health benefits, estimating that by 2055 the environment will have 8,700 fewer tons of particulate matter, 36,000 fewer tons of nitrogen oxides and 150,000 fewer tons of volatile organic compounds than if today’s current guidelines were still being adhered to. In addition, the stronger pollution standards are said to potentially save motorists approximately $6,000 in fuel and emission costs over the life of their vehicles.
General Motors – one of the companies that had fought against the less-flexible rules initially revealed in 2023 – said that while they support the EPA’s new regulations and appreciate that they have been loosened up a bit, the reality of adapting to them will nonetheless prove to be difficult.
GM supports the goals of the EPA’s final rule and its intention to significantly reduce emissions,” the automaker said in a statement. “Although challenging, we believe our commitments and investments in an all-electric future place GM in an excellent position to contribute to the goals.”
Stellantis, Honda, Volkswagen, and United Auto Workers all issued similar statements regarding the new EPA regulations, essentially calling the targets “aggressive” but an improvement on the initial 2023 proposal.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.