The speed in which automakers will have to phase out their gas-powered vehicles in favor of ones that are all-electric will be determined Wednesday, when the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release its new vehicle emissions rules. Environmental groups are hoping for a sped-up timeline that will put the country on the path to an all-electric fleet by the early part of next decade, while automakers are pushing for a slower adoption that allows the industry to meet consumers’ needs.
Requiring steeper cuts in emissions would essentially force the auto industry to sell more EVs with zero tailpipe emissions in order to comply with the standards. Slowing the transition would essentially give automakers license to keep selling polluting vehicles longer. This has environmentalists up in arms, arguing a delay will result in hundreds of millions of more tons of heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere than under the more aggressive rules.