Taming Emissions Also Remains A Major State Policy
The federal government announced final pollution standards for most vehicles, saying the changes will help the nation avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and lead to $13 billion in annual public health benefits due to improved air quality.
The standards apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 “and beyond,” the Environmental Protection Agency said, estimating the standards will also reduce annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers by $62 billion. As the acceptable level of pollution from a car is lowered over time, the new standards are expected to spur greater adoption of electric vehicles.
“With transportation as the largest source of U.S. climate emissions, these strongest-ever pollution standards for cars solidify America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, all while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
An effort by Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, including Massachusetts, to come up with a regional approach to decarbonizing the transportation sector fell apart in recent years, and taming vehicle emissions remains a major state policy challenge.
