The Biden administration brought out Al Gore’s son to tout the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new and aggressive automobile regulation in Washington, D.C.
Albert Gore — the son of failed 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore and the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, a green trade group — spoke at a Biden administration event promoting the new tailpipe emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles finalized Wednesday. The new tailpipe emissions standards are designed to force auto manufacturers to ensure that nearly 70% of all such vehicles sold will be zero-emission models within a decade.
“This is a truly historic moment for our country, and I’m honored to be here as we set a course to cut tailpipe pollution in half over the next eight years … We have everything we need today in terms of technology and know-how to meet and exceed this standard,” Gore said to open his remarks. “And we know that if all the manufacturers represented here today dedicate themselves to meeting and exceeding these goals, like America always does, we will firmly secure our future in a position of global leadership … I want to congratulate the Biden administration and everyone at EPA, and [White House National Climate Advisor] Ali [Zaidi], who have contributed to this historic moment.” (RELATED: ‘Mugged By Reality’: Biden Opened The Door For Chinese EVs To Flood The US Before Moving To Cork It Up, Experts Say)
The final standards unveiled Wednesday are the most restrictive ever promulgated in American history, though they are less aggressive than the EPA’s initial April 2023 proposal. The finalized regulation effectively mandates manufacturers to see to it that EVs make up between 31% and 44% of their sales by 2030, a reduction from the initial proposal’s 60% threshold, but maintains the same end goal of reducing emissions from new cars by at least 50% by 2032 relative to 2026 levels.
Though weaker than the proposal by comparison, the final rule still represents an “extreme EV mandate,” O.H. Skinner, the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The administration released the final rule at a time when the American EV market is struggling. Consumer demand has not taken off as quickly as anticipated, manufacturers are losing billions on their EV lines, executives are beginning to back off of some short-term production goals and Biden administration subsidy programs designed to help build out a national network of EV chargers have thus far failed to make much impact.
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