Washington, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards rule, which will govern new vehicles produced in model years (MY) 2023–2026. This rule will incentivize auto manufacturers to further electrify their vehicle fleets. The EPA estimates that this strengthened vehicle efficiency requirement will save consumers between $210 billion and $420 billion on gasoline through 2050. Furthermore, the rule’s public health and environmental benefits will outweigh the rule’s costs by $120 billion to $190 billion through 2050. The rule will mitigate the release of planet-warming pollution from gas-powered vehicles, and it will help reduce the 22,000 pollution-related premature deaths that occur annually in the United States.

“Strong emissions standards will help move the auto industry toward a more cost-effective, equitable, and sustainable transportation system,” said Joe Britton, the Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation (ZETA). “We commend the EPA and the Biden administration for accelerating the transition away from polluting gas-powered vehicles and expediting the delivery of the vast economic, environmental, and public health benefits that light-duty vehicle electrification will bring. Now, Congress needs to build on the ambition in these standards to help us achieve full transportation electrification.” 

“This is another step in the right direction,” said Shelley Francis, Co-Founder of EVHybridNoire. “As the impacts of climate change continue to worsen, especially for frontline communities, we’re glad to see that under the leadership of Administrator Michael Regan, the EPA has strengthened the proposed federal clean cars standards. For decades, communities of color have been faced with the hardest impacts of air pollution resulting in higher rates of asthma and death, and higher lifetime vehicle ownership costs. These higher standards will finally begin alleviating some of these issues while moving the U.S. economy to 100% zero emissions.”

The new rule will require the MY 2026 fleet to achieve average emissions of 161 grams of carbon dioxide-equivalent per mile, which equates to approximately 40 miles per gallon. This is a more efficient standard than was originally proposed by the EPA; the EPA increased the stringency of its final rule based on stakeholder feedback obtained through the public commenting process.

ZETA and EVHybridNoire previously filed a joint comment on the EPA’s proposed rulemaking. ZETA and EVHybridNoire contended that the EPA’s proposed rule did not go far enough to cut GHG emissions. ZETA and EVHybridNoire urged the EPA to instead implement stricter standards, which would ensure that the EPA’s GHG emissions standards would be sufficiently robust to tackle climate change, cut pollution, and boost public health—particularly in frontline communities living along transportation corridors and in urban areas. ‍

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About ZETA

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is a federal coalition focused on advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030. ZETA is committed to enacting policies that drive EV adoption, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, drastically improve public health, and significantly reduce carbon pollution.

About EVHybridNoire

EVHybridNoire is the nation’s largest network of diverse electric vehicle (EV) drivers and enthusiasts, and our mission is to advance electric vehicles and multimodal electric mobility (e-mobility) solutions (e.g., electric buses, electric bikes, electric scooters) across the United States, and ensure those solutions are inclusive and equitable. We do that by engaging with communities often left out of e-mobility discussions, advocating for e-mobility solutions in underserved communities, and shifting the narrative about e-mobility to be more inclusive of diverse populations.