As Republican leaders and business associations around the nation get ready for their next prospective legal battle with the government, a key element of President Biden’s green energy strategy to combat climate change is facing growing opposition.
Limiting Emissions by Phasing-out Gas-powered Cars
Based on the published news in Washington Times, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to limit vehicle emissions would force automakers to gas-powered cars to be phased out by 2030 and sell mostly electric vehicles, according to more than 100 trade groups with ties to the transportation industry, who urged the White House to change course on Tuesday.
Two of the sector groups told The Washington Times that, as Republican attorneys general from 25 states get ready for a potential lawsuit, “all of the options are on the table” Regarding bringing legal claims to oppose what they saw as a government misuse of authority,
Leslie Bellas, a vice president at American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, stated during a call with reporters that “setting transformative, economy-wide energy and transportation policies is Congress’ job, not EPA’s.”
When asked about the worries expressed by the trade groups, which represented a variety of industries including trucking, Big Oil, construction, automobiles, farmers, food, and manufacturing, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi remained silent.
Gas-powered car manufacturers and industry analysts have cautioned against attempting to force EV sales to reach 60% of all new vehicles delivered by 2030. They added that it would probably damage American energy security, increase reliance on China for essential minerals, and drive-up automobile prices.
Even with the $370 billion in clean energy subsidies included in the Inflation Reduction Act, a tax and spending measure sponsored by Democrats, the U.S. In the agency’s best-case scenario, EV sales are expected to reach 17% by 2030 and plateau there until 2050, when they are expected to account for less than 1 in 5 passenger vehicles and light trucks sold.
According to the EPA’s plan, those percentages would have to more than quadruple to 60% by 2030 and 67% by 2032. Less than 6% of new vehicles sold in 2022 were electric automobiles. Given the anticipated EV sales, the industry groups said that the administration “should consider opportunities to address emissions from the existing fleet.”
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Effect on the Economy in Phasing out Gas-powered Cars
Will Hupman, a vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, said that while the EPA’s proposals do not explicitly ban internal combustion engines, they nonetheless constitute a de facto ban that will reduce consumer choice, eliminate competition, and distort the market.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, one of the 25 Republican AGs who has told the EPA its proposal is “unlawful, unwise and unsustainable,” he and his GOP colleagues, according to The Times, are ready to file a lawsuit.
Vice President of Policy at the U.S. Reporters was briefed on Tuesday by the Global Energy Institute of the Chamber of Commerce that it is concerned about the reliability of the electrical grid, the scarcity of EV charging stations, and the demand for additional essential minerals for EV batteries.
The proposed criteria, according to Mr. Byers, “go too far, too quickly.”