The United States government introduced stricter standards for car emissions on Wednesday, a measure aimed at ensuring that 67 percent of cars sold in the country by 2032 are electric.
This goal is more ambitious than the one presented by President Joe Biden two years ago for half of the cars sold in the United States in 2030 to be from zero emissions (electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen).
The White House, however, does not set a specific quota for clean vehicles for sale.
But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to progressively reduce the average amount of polluting emissions from vehicles new ones produced by each manufacturer, in order to mount more cars
electrical.
These new rules “they should make it possible to avoid the emission of about 10,000 million tons of CO2 (by 2055), that is, more than double the total CO2 emissions in the United States in 2022,” the EPA said in a statement.
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The government’s decision is “a key piece of the puzzle to reduce our nation’s largest source of carbon pollution and provide cleaner air and a safer climate for all,” Manish Bapna, head of the environmental organization NRDC, said in a statement. statements to the AFP.
“If implemented correctly, the measures will also reduce oil imports and fuel costs for motorists,” he added.
the new rules
In practice, the new rules will make it more difficult to produce gasoline-powered vehicles and boost the sale of electric cars, one of Biden’s big bets to combat the climate crisis, senior Administration officials explained to the press.
Manufacturers will choose which technologies they adopt to reduce emissions from the cars produced. In the past, they have reduced the weight of their vehicles, improved the efficiency of their engines and added new particulate filters.
But with many brands so far along in electric vehicle development, the EPA is counting on this trend to accelerate.
According to his calculations, with the new rules, electric vehicles could represent 67% of the sales of light vehicles (urban cars, sedans, SUVs, pick-ups) in 2032, 50% of the sales of buses and garbage trucks , 35% of local transport trucks and 25% of long-distance transport trucks.
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The task looks difficult for manufacturers. Although they have increased considerably in the last two years, All-electric car sales in the United States only accounted for 5.8 percent of vehicles sold in 2022, according to Cox Automotive.
But the forecasts in this regard are revised periodically as technology advances, Ali Zaidi, a White House climate adviser, said during a press conference.
In addition to the numerous public aid aimed at stimulating the electric vehicle market since Joe Biden was president, the private sector has invested 120,000 million dollars in the manufacture of these types of cars and batteries.
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The challenges
Arthur Wheaton, an automotive expert at Cornell University, said that these goals face three main challenges. The first of these is political, since pollution rules can change depending on who is in the White House, making it “very difficult for companies to have a long-term strategy.”
Manufacturers also continue to have problems in their supply chains. For example, Rivian and Lucid, companies that only produce electric cars, are unable to meet their production targets.
It makes it very difficult for companies to have a long-term strategy
And for industry giants, transforming an entire production system, from building battery plants to modifying assembly lines, takes time.
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Electric vehicles are still only a small part of General Motors and Ford’s sales, and cost them a lot of money.
Manufacturers also have to deal with “limited availability of raw materials” such as lithium, said Wheaton, who believes it is important for the government to set ambitious targets. This allows “applying the same rules to all manufacturers,” he said.
And even if only 85% of the targets are achieved, “at least the transformation of the production system and supply chain is underway.”
During a call with the press, EPA Administrator Michael Regan described the new standards as “the toughest” ever set by the federal government to reduce emissions from transportation, acknowledging that the new goals are “ambitious,” although considered that they can be met.
EFE and AFP
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