Biden Faces Pressure to Drive Gasoline and Diesel Cars out of the US
by Oliver Milman (The Guardian) Joe Biden’s administration, seeking deep cuts to planet-heating emissions, is facing pressure to take a previously unthinkable step: declare the end of the internal combustion engine in the US.
Washington state has moved to call time on the age of gasoline and diesel cars, with the legislature passing a goal that new car sales be only zero-emission vehicles from 2030, including out of state purchases that are then imported. The legislation now awaits to signature of Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat who previously ran for president on the climate crisis platform.
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But his administration is being pressed to go further and ensure the US joins countries such the UK, France and Norway in imposing a national ban of new gasoline and diesel car sales to help slash emissions to net zero by 2050. Last week, the governors of 12 states, including New York and California, wrote to the president to urge he take “bold federal leadership” and ensure all new cars sold from 2035 are zero-emission.
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The task appears daunting – only about 2% of cars sold a year in the US are electric, with many American drivers put off by the relatively high cost of models and concerns over the ability to recharge batteries. Prices are dropping and sales are expected to climb, but not at the rate researchers say is needed to avoid dangerous global heating, with electric vehicles needing to make up more than half of sales a decade from now and making up 90% of all cars on American roads by 2050.
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Under the Clean Air Act, the Biden administration can set vehicle emissions standards that only electric vehicles could meet.
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American drivers are increasingly favoring larger, and more polluting, SUVs and companies such as General Motors, which has pledged to go all-electric by 2035, are hoping that zero-emission versions of popular models will allow for a seamless transition. GM is set to launch an electric version of its Hummer vehicle while Ford is preparing to roll out its best-selling F-150 as an electric model next year.
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The Biden administration is also attempting to address the lack of electric charging ports, vowing in its recent infrastructure plan to install 500,000 new charging stations, which experts say is only a small portion of what will be required. READ MORE
Twelve U.S. states urge Biden to back phasing out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 (Reuters)
Automakers: States ‘unlikely to reach’ 2035 gas-free goal (E&E News)
Biden touts electric car company potentially worth millions for his energy secretary (CNN)
Automakers: States ‘unlikely to reach’ 2035 gas-free goal (E&E News)
Opinion: Biden’s EV tax credits redistribute wealth … upward (Washington Post)
NOT SO EXCITED FOR EVs: (Politico’s Morning Energy)
Why Republicans won’t fund EVs (E&E News)
Manchin not so excited for EVs (Politico/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition)
Growing momentum: Global overview of government targets for phasing out sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles (International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT))
Excerpt from Reuters: The governors of a dozen U.S. states including California, New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina called on President Joe Biden on Wednesday to back ending sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels.
Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan calls for $174 billion in spending and tax credits to boost electric vehicles (EVs) and charging networks but does not call for phasing out gasoline-powered passenger vehicles.
In a letter that was seen by Reuters, the governors, which also include those of Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington State and Rhode Island, urged Biden to set standards “to ensure that all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold are zero-emission no later than 2035 with significant milestones along the way to monitor progress.”
They argued that “by establishing a clear regulatory path to ensuring that all vehicles sold in the United States are zero-emission, we can finally clear the air and create high-road jobs.”
Excerpt from Politico’s Morning Energy: NOT SO EXCITED FOR EVs: Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed skepticism at investing major federal bucks into electric vehicle infrastructure, as Biden’s plan proposes.“I don’t remember Henry Ford — when he built the Model T — that we went out and built filling stations for him,” Manchin told reporters, including our Anthony Adragna. “We should give them incentives and help them mature it. We’re willing to do it, but it shouldn’t cost as far as the debt to the nation.”
As a refresher, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week that the federal government would likely only cover the costs of charging stations in areas that don’t have the means to do so — particularly in rural communities.
And during the ARPA-E Innovation Summit on Tuesday, Buttigieg stressed the need for partnerships between the private sector, public sector and academia in both advancing technologies and bringing them to scale. He brought up federal investment in commercial aviation as an example of a successful public-private technology partnership. READ MORE
