EPA proposed delaying upcoming conventional pollution standards for new cars and trucks Thursday, arguing electric vehicle adoption rates have been insufficient to support the Biden administration’s regulation.
The plan to delay and — in a follow-up rulemaking — eventually reduce the vehicle standards follows the Trump administration’s revocation of all greenhouse gas rules for vehicles, a sharp U-turn from the Biden administration’s pro-EV agenda.
“The American people have been very clear; they do not want EVs forced upon them,” Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. “This proposal aims to return EPA regulations to reality, restoring consumer choice, protecting good paying American jobs, and strengthening the nation’s global competitiveness while the agency works to reconsider the Tier 4 standards.”
The 2024 rule set greenhouse gas standards for model year 2027 and beyond, while also strengthening federal standards for various conventional pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds — known as “Tier 4” in EPA lingo.
