President Joe Biden is redoubling efforts to slash the country’s single largest contributor to climate change: transportation pollution. But a new rule that could significantly boost electric vehicle sales, which the administration is expected to release Wednesday, is worrying automakers and spurring concerns about the availability of minerals needed to power EVs, write POLITICO’s E&E News reporters Hannah Northey, Timothy Cama and Emma Dumain. “This requires a massive, 100-year change to the U.S. industrial base and the way Americans drive,” said the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which includes auto giants such as Ford and General Motors. The new auto pollution limits are designed to ensure that electric cars account for as much as 67 percent of new passenger vehicles sold by 2032, the New York Times reported Saturday. That would be a jump from Biden’s earlier goal that electric vehicles account for half of all new cars sold by 2030 — and it’s a massive leap for a country where a mere 5.8 percent of vehicles sold last year were electric. Bloomberg first reported on the forthcoming rule. Still, the move is not unprecedented. The European Union is working to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. The United Kingdom and Canada have proposed similar measures, as have automakers such as Ford. That doesn’t make it easy to do. Even manufacturers that have invested heavily in electric models are facing supply chain problems that have stalled production. The scarce availability of minerals needed to make car batteries isn’t helping. And many auto companies worry that consumer appetite just isn’t there. The Treasury wrench: Further complicating matters is recent federal guidance that will limit the availability of a $7,500 tax credit that would make electric vehicles more affordable. The credit, provided by last year’s mammoth climate law, is intended to increase consumer demand. But it also aims to boost the number of electric vehicles made and sourced inside the United States. The Treasury Department’s proposal for enforcing that second goal means many EVs will no longer qualify for the credit starting April 18. Can EPA and Treasury meet both their goals at the same time? Other obstacles: Accelerating the adoption of electric cars in the U.S. would require other major changes. Those include building out the nation’s troubled network of charging stations and revamping the electric grid to accommodate the extra energy needed to power a new fleet of vehicles. The new EPA rule, which is far from final, will also likely be met by a bevy of lawsuits. If the relevant industries mobilize to enact the president’s ambitious goal, however, the country could slash significant amounts of planet-warming pollution — which scientists agree is necessary to stave off the worst of climate change.
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