Washington, Apr 12 (EFE).- The government of US President Joe Biden announced this Wednesday new measures to reduce polluting emissions from transport, with the aim that by 2032 67% of cars and 46% of the vans sold in the country are electric.
In practice, the new rules will hinder the production of gasoline 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.
In August 2021, Biden already announced measures so that by 2023, 50% of all vehicles (including cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks) sold in the country would be electric.
Now the Executive has decided to go further and tighten emission standards because it believes that further progress is possible, since the automobile industry itself has increased its investments in electric vehicles in recent years.
In fact, electric vehicle sales have tripled and the number of models available has doubled since Biden entered the White House in January 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In addition, there are already some 130,000 public electric chargers on the country’s roads, an increase of 40% compared to 2020.
During a press call, 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” but achievable. .
In addition, he assured that the Government plans to continue talking with car manufacturers to promote the transition to electric models.
For now, the automobile industry has reacted cautiously to the Administration’s proposal, which could still be modified before it enters into force.
CAUTION IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Specifically, John Bozzella, the executive director of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a business association that includes Ford, General Motors (GM) and other manufacturers, called the new rules “aggressive by any measure” and He argued that meeting the objectives set will depend, to a large extent, on the incentives given for the purchase of electric vehicles.
“The question is not whether this can be done, but how quickly, and how quickly will depend almost entirely on getting the right policies in place and having the right market conditions in place to achieve those goals,” he said in a statement.
Currently, Americans who buy a new electric vehicle can receive a tax credit of up to $7,500, a measure that Biden promoted precisely to promote that means of transportation.
However, electric vehicles only accounted for 7.5% of total sales in the first quarter of the year, according to industry data, so there is still a long way to go to achieve the objectives that the Government has set for 2032. .
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS WELCOMES THE NEW RULES
In contrast to the caution of the automobile industry, US environmental groups welcomed the Executive’s announcement and considered it positive that he seeks to reduce emissions from transportation, the largest source of pollution.
The director of the Climate Action Campaign, Margie Alt, highlighted in a statement the positive effect that the EPA rules will have on groups that have traditionally been disproportionately impacted by climate change, such as the Hispanic and African-American communities.
“These new guarantees will significantly reduce pollution from the transportation sector while providing protection to those who have traditionally had to bear the brunt of this dangerous pollution: those who live closest to the roads and in heavily congested areas.” manifested.
Alt also promised that the Climate Action Campaign – a coalition that includes the most important environmental groups in the US – will closely follow the Government’s process to finalize the rules with the objective that they serve to combat the climate crisis and , among other things, put an end to the great pollution from trucks.
For its part, the environmental group Sierra Club also stressed that the new measures will benefit communities of color, who have been disproportionately affected because they tend to live near highways.
“The era of the polluting vehicle must come to an end for the health of the people and for the planet,” said the director of the Sierra Club’s “transportation for all” program, Katherine Garcia, in a statement.
According to estimates by the US government itself, the new standards will prevent 10,000 million tons of CO2 from being emitted into the air, the equivalent of more than double all carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 in the United States.
