In an effort to pressure automakers to shift toward making more electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency shared new vehicle emission standards that are expected to reduced U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 7.2 billion metric tons through 2055.
Transportation is the largest source of the country’s climate emissions, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The new standards, which will represent the average of allowed emissions across a carmaker’s entire stock of offer vehicles, affect newly manufactured trucks and cars from model years 2027 to 2023.
The new standards aren’t quite as ambitious as the EPA’s original proposal in April 2023. In response to pushback on the standards from automakers, EPA officials said they will allow for a slower timeline for compliance, giving the market more lead time to react.
“This actually is a huge win for all Americans. The standards will help tackle one of the nation’s largest sources of climate pollution—our cars and our trucks,” said Luke Tonachel, senior strategist for the transportation sector for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “There is a shift that the auto industry is undergoing towards cleaner vehicles, but these standards ensure that we get to the lower pollution levels that we absolutely need.”
