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- A new draft plan is reportedly going to unwind the EPA’s ruling that greenhouse gases are a public health issue.
- If passed, the federal agency’s ability to enforce restrictions on automakers could be limited in the future.
- The plan would overturn official EPA policy that has been in place since 2009.
A newly drafted plan from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said to be days away from going public, aims to strip the agency’s ability to limit greenhouse gases. According to reporting from the New York Times, the draft proposal rescinds a 2009 declaration that carbon dioxide and methane emissions are hazardous to public health.If verified and passed, such a proposal presents further headwinds to EV adoption and also removes limits on tailpipe emissions. The ruling would also affect industrial pollution, but as far as the automotive industry is concerned, it would remove carbon emission limitations as a target for automakers.With fines for CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) violations largely eliminated and federal rebates for EV purchases gone, this new change could continue to change the course of domestic car manufacturing. Long-term, such a change would limit the EPA’s authority to enforce rules aimed at limiting climate change.getty imagesThe proposed draft is said not to argue with the science regarding greenhouse gas emissions, but rather it states that the EPA has legally overstepped its authority. It seeks to limit the EPA’s ability to legislate except in specific circumstances.There are several steps to be taken before such a change occurs, not least of which are various legal hurdles. If enacted, the new plan would almost certainly face challenges from various sources. It also has to weather some form of public review. It took two years for the EPA to officially label greenhouse gases as a public health issue after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that they were pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Unwinding this finding may take a similarly long timeline.If you are in the automaking business, however, it’s fairly straightforward to see which way the winds are blowing. For the near future, investing in combustion-powered transportation is likely to be the safe bet.Related Stories
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Brendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
