The story so far: The U.S. White House on Monday announced new commitments in support of the country’s transition to cleaner energy. President Joe Biden has actively pushed the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country and aims to have 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.
Earlier in April 2023, the Biden administration proposed new, tougher vehicle pollution standards in a bid to promote the use of EVs in the U.S.
What are the commitments made by the White House?
The new private and public sector commitments announced by the White House are part of President Biden’s Investing in America initiative. They are aimed at accelerating the growth of the EV industry by increasing consumer demand, lowering costs, and promoting inclusion. The four-pronged approach includes EV fleet expansion; community charging (commercial and multifamily); consumer education and support; and providing tools and resources.
EV fleet expansion: This includes coordination with popular ride-sharing companies as well as EV component producers. For example, Uber has committed to reaching 400 million EV miles driven on its platform in the U.S. by the end of 2023. Xcel Energy and Colorado Car Share have committed to launch an electric car-sharing programme for underserved and high-emissions communities in Colorado by the end of 2023. On the other hand, Redwood Materials is committed to scaling the production of critical battery components in the U.S., with the goal of powering five million EVs by 2030.
Community charging (commercial and multifamily): This covers commitments by companies to add EV charging stations to make the facility more accessible to the public. For example, Span.IO, Inc. has committed to triple the number of EV home charger installs by 2024; and Blink Charging has committed to invest $49 million to increase its manufacturing capacity in Bowie, Maryland from 10,000 to 40,000 chargers per year by 2024.
Consumer education and support: This includes collaboration with non-profit organisations, events, etc. to educate consumers about the benefits of EVs over conventional fuel-powered automobiles. For example, Avanza EV has committed to deploy chargers and bilingual EV education in at least 1,500 low-income majority Latino multifamily housing communities and engage at least 400,000 families by 2028. Climate Power has committed to educate over a million people about EVs through its influencer network by June 2024.
Tools and resources: Both private and public sector companies aim to use online training, savings prediction calculators, web portals, and other tools and resources to encourage Americans to switch to EVs. Exelon has committed to offering a comprehensive fleet electrification assessment service to help customers and businesses navigate vehicle electrification, create fleet electrification plans, and estimate total costs of ownership savings. National Automobile Dealers Association and Centre for Sustainable Energy have committed to launch online dealer training in 2023 to help them accelerate EV sales as well as mass-market EV adoption.
The new proposed vehicle pollution standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed two new rules – Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles; and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3.
If the new proposed rules are accepted, the EPA estimates that 67% of new sedans, crossovers, SUVs and light trucks; 50% of new vocational vehicles (like buses and garbage trucks); 35% of new short-haul freight tractors; and 25% of new long-haul freight tractors will be electrified by 2032 – nine years from now.
The Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards seek to use advances in clean car technology to reduce pollution, improve public health, and save money through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
The projected net benefits of this proposal range from $850 billion to $1.6 trillion between 2027-2055. It is also expected to avoid 7.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions through 2055— equivalent to eliminating all GHG emissions from the current U.S. transportation sector for four years.
The GHG Emissions Standards proposal, if accepted, will be applicable to heavy-duty vocational vehicles (such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, etc.) and tractors (such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks). The new rules include stricter measures for carbon dioxide emissions.
The heavy-duty proposal is projected to avoid 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through 2055, equal to eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions from the current U.S. transportation sector for an entire year. The projected net benefits of this proposal range from $180 - $320 billion.
U.S. historic emissions record
According to an analysis by Carbon Brief, the U.S. is responsible for the largest share of historical CO2 emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution, at around 20%.
- Earlier in April 2023, the Biden administration proposed new, and tougher vehicle pollution standards in a bid to promote the use of EVs in the U.S.
- The new private and public sector commitments announced by the White House are part of President Biden’s Investing in America initiative.
- The four-pronged approach includes EV fleet expansion; community charging (commercial and multifamily); consumer education and support; and providing tools and resources.
