General Motors (GM) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) jointly announced recommendations earlier this week with the goal of making all new passenger vehicles electric by the mid-next decade.
In a press release, GM and EDF urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop emission standards requiring at least 50% of new passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2030, along with a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the 2030 model year.
Going beyond, GM and EDF call for a “drastic reduction in nitrogen oxides and particles, in line with eliminating tailpipe pollution from new passenger cars by 2035.” This aligns with GM’s “aspiration” announced in 2021, but if included in regulations, it represents a new level of commitment.
This time, GM and EDF are urging the EPA to propose new standards by the end of the year and finalize them by the fall of 2023. They would take effect for the 2027 model year and extend until at least the calendar year 2032, but ideally until 2035, according to GM and EDF.
In April, the EPA finalized rules through 2026, although the rules were projected to require only around 17% electric vehicles for the U.S. market by then. Therefore, GM/EDF’s recommendations call for a significant increase in electric vehicle sales.
California has already surpassed 15% of electric vehicle sales at certain points and has its own individual goal of virtually eliminating all new vehicles with a tailpipe without a plug by 2035. However, California is expected to face some challenges in achieving that goal.
