The Biden administration plans to relax limits on tailpipe emissions in the coming years in an effort to keep automakers and labor unions in its court during the upcoming election cycle.
What happened?
In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its toughest-ever limit on tailpipe emissions, which The New York Times declared would require "nothing short of a revolution in the U.S. auto industry."
The way the rules were designed would have essentially required two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States to be all-electric by 2032.
Though that remains the end goal, administration officials are tweaking the rules to allow auto manufacturers more time to comply, meaning electric vehicle sales would increase more gradually through 2030 before a sharp rise, the Times reported. The publication cited anonymous sources familiar with the plan.
Why is the plan change concerning?
Delaying the timeline for a transition to EVs could affect our race to combat rising global temperatures.
"You'll have faster warming if U.S. transportation emissions don't decline before 2030," James Glynn, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, told the Times.
Still, the publication reports, some experts say that the trade-off could be worth it to help Biden win the election, as Trump has declared that he would roll the rules back entirely if he wins.
What is being done about tailpipe emissions?
Aside from national standards, some states are taking matters into their own hands. For instance, New Jersey recently announced a plan to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.
A popular concern among U.S. consumers and the auto industry is a lack of EV infrastructure. However, the Biden administration recently approved $900 million in funding to build a network of charging stations that would cover 35 states.
If you're in the market for a new car, you can still take advantage of up to $7,500 in federal rebates through the Inflation Reduction Act. You can also make a difference by changing how you get around — try biking more, taking public transportation, or carpooling with others.
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