EPA Emissions Standards Target Air Quality, More EVs, Less Oil

• Building on the existing 2023-26 standards, the EPA’s proposal “would accelerate the transition to electric vehicles” to an expected 67% of new light-duty cars and trucks, and 46% of medium-duty trucks.
• Flexibility would allow, for instance, Toyota to comply with the standards by cutting its share of CO2 emissions by selling mostly plug-in hybrids with a few EVs and hydrogen fuel-cell EVs.
• The model year 2032 passenger car and light-duty truck standards would cut fleet average greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 56% from the 2026 standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium Duty Vehicles” is “expected to avoid nearly 7.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions through 2055, equivalent to eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions from the entire US transportation sector for four years,” and deliver “significant health benefits.”

The proposal, which faces a public comment period before it can become law, would give automakers flexibility to meet the standards by adjusting their fleets’ powertrains however they see fit.

By building on the existing 2023-26 standards, the proposal “would accelerate the transition to electric vehicles” to an expected 67% of new light-duty cars and trucks, and 46% of medium-duty trucks.

Given such flexibility, Toyota could potentially try to meet the emissions standards, for example, with a smaller percentage of EVs offset by more plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell EVs.

Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the new standards at EPA headquarters this morning.

A separate set of standards affect heavy-duty trucks, including delivery vehicles, refuse haulers, dump trucks, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle and school buses, and freight tractor-trailers. They would be required, industry-wide, to cut 1.8 billion tons of CO2 through 2055.

The model year 2032 passenger car and light-duty truck standards would cut fleet average greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 56% from the 2026 standards.

“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel costs for families,” Regan said.

He said that helping achieve the 2032 electric-vehicle goal will be Biden’s Investing in America agenda and its building infrastructure which has increased the number of public EV chargers across the nation by 40% since 2020, to 130,000 currently.

The EPA will hear public comments about its proposed emissions standards. What would you say about this proposal? Please comment below.