Light duty vehicles—cars and passenger trucks—are the most climate-polluting part of the most climate-polluting sector of the economy. If the United States hopes to address the climate crisis, address toxic air pollution that disproportionately sickens communities of color, establish ourselves as a global EV leader, and create millions of jobs, President Biden must drive swiftly toward 100% clean cars.
On August 5, the Biden administration announced a path forward on EVs that, unfortunately, does not meet the moment.
The administrative rules and the proposed 2030 EV deployment timeline that the administration announced alongside automakers do not together provide an adequate jumpstart to reach 100% clean car sales on the necessary timeline, and they leave our domestic EV industry considerably behind that of other countries.
Clean cars present a huge opportunity to combat the climate crisis, address pollution in disadvantaged communities, dominate the global EV market, and build a domestic clean car manufacturing industry with millions of good jobs––and strong government support is essential to seize this moment.
This memo explains why the administration's announcements and the automakers’ voluntary commitments fall short, and what the Biden administration should do next to put us on a better path.