United States Governors Call on Joe Biden to Reduce Transportation Industry Emissions by 100% by 2045

Governors of a dozen states in the United States, including California, New York, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, asked President Joe Biden on Wednesday to Gasoline passenger car sales will end by 2035, a dramatic shift from fossil fuels.

Biden’s $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure plan includes approximately $ 174 billion in expenditures and tax credits to boost sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging networks, but does not include phasing out petrol-powered passenger vehicles.

By letter, the governors, including those of Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington State, and Rhode Island, urged Biden to standards “to ensure that all new passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2035 are ’emission-free’, with significant milestones to monitor progress.”

The letter states that “By establishing a clear regulatory path to ensure that all vehicles sold in the United States are ’emission-free’, we can finally clear the air and create jobs on major highways.”

Governors want too Biden sets standards and adopts incentives to ensure that 100% of medium and heavy duty vehicle sales are “zero emissions” by 2045.

In that sense they state that “From China to the European Union, a race has begun to lead the revolution in the production” of zero-emission transportation to which many companies have already committed, so it takes “strong federal leadership” to keep the US “competitive.”

At this point, the White House did not immediately comment on the governors’ letter.

States and some legislators hope so If the Democratic president supports the idea of ​​setting a deadline for gas elimination, it will accelerate the transition to electric vehicles on the part of users and car manufacturers.

Currently, electric vehicles represent only 2% of US car sales. Several US lawmakers have urged Biden to follow the lead of California, which said in September that it plans to discontinue sales of new gasoline passenger cars by 2035.

However, That’s what Biden’s campaign team said last fall he did not support the California phase out plan.

In March a group of 71 House Democrats urged Biden to enact strict emissions regulations to ensure that 60% of new passenger cars and trucks sold are “zero emissions” by 2030.while 10 senators asked him to set a date when fossil fuel-powered vehicles will no longer be fully sold.

General Motors said in January it was working towards the goal of ending all gasoline car and truck sales by 2035. Volvo, a division of Zhejiang Geely Holding, said its entire automotive line will be fully electric by 2030 and Ford’s European line will also do something similar.

In their letter, the governors express their wish that Biden should reverse the fuel economy standards in place under the Donald Trump administration and provide states “substantial funds for investment in charging and fuel infrastructure.”

They also called for the lifting or raising of tax credit limits on electric vehicle production.

But not everyone has supported a plan to phase out fossil fuel cars. Rory Gamble, chairman of the United Auto Workers union, has expressed caution about the shift to electric vehicles, noting that fewer workers are needed to build electric vehicles than gasoline cars and said that “workers will suffer disproportionately if we not doing it right. “.

Last month, Gamble said the government should ensure that the transition to electric vehicles is “stable, reliable and provides quality jobs and is flexible to market demand without relying on a one-size-fits-all solution.”.

On the eve of the Leaders Summit on Climate Change

As he promised during the election campaign, the fight against climate change will be one of the main pillars of Joe Biden’s government. For this reason, The President of the United States organized a virtual summit that will bring together 40 world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Pope Francis, starting Thursday, April 22 – Earth Day.

The top, that runs until Friday and it will act as a prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, with the participation of 17 countries responsible for 80% of the emissions accelerating global climate change.

To lead, major proposals are needed and to that end Biden pledges to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2030, almost double the original goal his country had set under the Paris Agreement.

Washington will pressure all nations to reduce dependence on coal, the secretary of state said Monday. Antony Blink, warning that “we won’t have much of the world left” without stronger American leadership on climate change.

With information from Reuters

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