Biden administration weighs slowing shift to electric vehicles
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering relaxing one of its most significant climate change rules — tailpipe emissions limits for cars and trucks — by giving automakers more time to boost sales of electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Rather than mandating a rapid increase in electric vehicle (EV) sales in the coming years, the agency could delay these requirements until after 2030, the two people said. The individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because no final decision has been made; the rule will not be finalized until March at the earliest.
The Biden administration faces pressure on multiple fronts to weaken its electrification targets, in part because of slowing EV sales and also problems with public EV charging stations.
The New York Times first reported that the EPA is mulling such a change, which would mark a major election-year concession to automakers and labor unions. Biden is walking a political tightrope by balancing two high-profile priorities: fighting climate change and championing labor rights.
During a contentious strike in the fall, the United Auto Workers sounded the alarm that a rapid shift to EVs could cost wellpaying jobs. The union has been wary of EVs because they generally require fewer workers to assemble than gasoline-powered vehicles, and because many EV plants are being built in Southern states less friendly to unions.
In April, the EPA issued a proposed rule that called for EVs to account for 67 percent of all sales of new passenger cars and lightduty trucks by 2032. Weeks later, UAW President Shawn Fain wrote that the union was withholding its endorsement of Biden’s reelection campaign over “concerns with the electric vehicle transition.”
In January, the EPA sent the final rule to the White House for interagency review. Soon after, the UAW endorsed Biden at its annual legislative conference in Washington.
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has since called Fain a “dope” on his social media site Truth Social. Trump has also incorrectly claimed that EVs cannot travel far on a single charge, and he has called for eliminating the EV tax credits in Biden’s signature climate law.
UAW spokesman Jonah Furman declined to comment for this article. EPA spokesman Timothy Carroll declined to comment on the specifics of the rule while it is under interagency review. But, in general, Carroll said in an email, “EPA is committed to finalizing a technology standard that is readily achievable, secures reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensures economic benefits for families.”
Dan Becker, the director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, urged the EPA not to delay the timeline for transitioning to EVs. He noted that gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks are one of the country’s largest sources of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
“It will mean more pollution, more sick kids, more global warming, more oil use,” Becker said in a phone interview Sunday.
Yet delaying the EV requirements would still achieve roughly the same emissions reductions as the original proposal by 2055, according to one person briefed on the matter.
While EV sales in the United States have continued to climb, automakers say growth has slowed in recent months, prompting them to pause some investments. Tesla, whose workforce is not unionized, dominates U.S. EV sales. Unionized Detroit automakers lag far behind, with EVs being only 4 percent of Ford’s total sales and 3 percent of General Motors’.
The availability of functioning charging stations is an issue, for automakers and for many consumers alike. Although many EV drivers charge their vehicles at home, EV advocates have complained about a lack of functioning public charging stations across the country.