EPA’s recent proposal to ban the vast majority of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in less than 10 years is the most extreme policy I’ve seen from the Agency in my lifetime. More than 90% of American households own a car, so this is a policy that is going to affect almost every one of us. For something this severe and transforming—which threatens to upend U.S. refining and petrochemical manufacturing—EPA has inexplicably decided to only take public comments through July 5. That means we’ve got just over a month to get our concerns on the record. I hope you’ll do that right now at the AFPM | EMPOWER website. 

SEND YOUR COMMENT TO EPA

These are the points we’re making sure to stress in our comments (which we welcome you to customize):  

• Yes… this proposal is a ban. Understandably, EPA doesn’t want to own that its policy is the beginning of a nationwide ban on gasoline and diesel vehicles. But if the only cars that can satisfy EPA’s zero-tailpipe-emission mandate are electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles—which EPA has acknowledged—then it’s going to feel very much like a ban to consumers who will no longer have the same ability to purchase gas and diesel cars and trucks.  
• This proposal is great news for China. The United States is energy secure because of our strength in liquid fuels. We are the world’s refining powerhouse and a net exporter of crude oil and refined products. This proposal would have us trade that advantage for a position of dependence on China, because China is without question the world’s dominant player in critical minerals and EV battery production.  
• This proposal ignores all but one category of vehicle emissions. Serious environmental policy needs to account for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the vehicle lifecycle. Period. Unfortunately, EPA’s proposal focuses just on tailpipe emissions, completely ignoring emissions associated with vehicle and battery manufacturing, electric vehicle charging and battery replacement and recycling. Using this flawed logic, a Hummer EV, with its near-3,000-pound battery weighing more than a full Hyundai Elantra, would count as having ZERO emissions and less impact on the environment than a Prius. Ongoing efforts to reduce the lifecycle emissions of traditional fuels and vehicles are completely overlooked by this proposal which seeks to arbitrarily disqualify nearly all gasoline, diesel, hybrid and flex fuel vehicle models.

Like I said, we have until July 5 to get our point of view on the official docket with EPA. Please take just a minute to do that right now and please consider forwarding this to your friends, family and colleagues.

Ericka Perryman 

On behalf of the AFPM | EMPOWER