The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized more protective standards the agency said will significantly slash vehicle emissions. West Virginia’s leaders quickly criticized the new rules.
The standards announced Wednesday would slash emissions of greenhouse gases and soot from new passenger cars, light trucks, and larger pickups and vans, the EPA said.
They will be phased in gradually over model years 2027 through 2032 for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles in what the agency characterized as a key step in tackling climate change and yielding net benefits of roughly $100 billion to society.
“Let America keep her foot on the accelerator, and let’s go,†EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a speech announcing the standards at the D.C. Armory in Washington on Wednesday.
The average driver can expect to save an average of $6,000 over the lifetime of a new vehicle from reduced fuel and maintenance costs, once the standards are fully phased in, the EPA said Wednesday.
“The future is electric,†John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car manufacturing trade group, said at the D.C. Armory on Wednesday, speaking after Regan. “Automakers are committed to this transformation.â€
Jim Kotcon, chairman of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club and owner of an all-electric 2018 Chevy Bolt, hailed the new standards.
“The fuel and maintenance savings for consumers will more than pay back the investment costs for these new vehicles,†Kotcon said. “This is one of those rules that saves money for consumers while protecting public health and reducing climate pollution.â€
‘Unrealistic transition to electric vehicles’
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., accused President Joe Biden’s administration of “deciding for Americans which kinds of cars they are allowed to buy, rent, and drive.
“These regulations represent yet another step toward an unrealistic transition to electric vehicles that Americans do not want and cannot afford,†Capito said in a statement.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey asserted that the rule contributes to “this administration’s radical green new deal,†while Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., called the rule “effectively an EV mandate.â€
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EPA: Billions in benefits, thousands of premature deaths avoided
The rule comes amid the rise of electric vehicle sales, but Regan noted that the standard is technology-neutral, allowing manufacturers to choose what technologies they believe are best suited for their fleets to meet the standards. The EPA said it anticipates manufacturers to produce a diverse range of vehicles under the standards, including cleaner gasoline vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and full-battery electric vehicles.
The EPA estimated that the total benefits of the rule will far surpass the costs, with $72 billion in climate benefits and $13 billion of annualized benefits attributable to reduced emissions of common air pollutants that contribute to soot linked to premature death, aggravated asthma and heart attacks.
The EPA projects the rule to prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055.
Some groups said the rule doesn’t go far enough to lower harmful emissions.
Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group, suggested that the new rule gives automakers too much leeway in deciding when and how to reduce pollution from their vehicle fleets.
“[T]his rule falls far short of what is needed to protect public health and our planet. [The] EPA is giving automakers a pass to continue producing polluting vehicles,†Public Citizen senior policy advocate Chelsea Hodgkins said in a statement.
Electric vehicle sales have been growing year over year.
In February 2024, 105,803 hybrid electric vehicles were sold in the United States, up 59.5% from sales in February 2023, according to the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. A total of 110,205 plug-in vehicles were sold during February 2024 in the United States, up 11.4% from the sales in February 2023.
However, The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the new EPA rules come as sales of electric vehicles have begun to slow. The auto industry cited lower sales growth in objecting to the new standards.
West Virginia had 21,600 electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid light-duty vehicles registered in 2022, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. The state had 1,267,500 gasoline-powered light-duty vehicles registered in 2022.
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