Top oil lobbyist blasts Biden’s ‘de facto ban’ on gas-powered vehicles

The leading lobbying group for the oil and natural gas industry on Wednesday joined the list of critics officially opposing the Biden administration’s ambitious electric vehicle targets that it hopes to achieve through a proposed rule on reducing vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing such stringent emissions-slashing for light- and medium-duty vehicles that it would force automakers’ sales to be 60% electric by 2030 and 67% EV by 2032 — a “de facto ban” on internal combustion engines, the American Petroleum Institute said in comments submitted to the EPA.

“We support technology-neutral federal policies that drive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in the transportation sector, but this proposal seriously misses the mark,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “While not an explicit ban on internal combustion engines, this proposal is a de facto ban that will eliminate competition, distort the market and restrict consumer choice, while being potentially more costly to taxpayers.”

The Clean Air Act proposal is part of President Biden’s agenda to combat climate change and has been met with skepticism about its feasibility from automakers, industry analysts and congressional Republicans.

The emissions rule, if finalized and put into effect, would apply to model years 2027-2032.

The criticism comes after the U.S. auto industry’s top trade group, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, last week said that the proposal was “out of whack” and “neither reasonable nor achievable in the timeframe provided.” AAI represents major automakers such as General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz.

AAI in a memo to the EPA gave the agency suggestions, including not to write off plug-in hybrids; not to overlook major hurdles like public charging stations, access to critical minerals for batteries and grid reliability; and not to force automakers to take their focus away from EVs to meet stricter requirements for gas-powered vehicles.

Mr. Sommers also told the EPA it should take other measures to reduce vehicle emissions, such as adopting a more “technology-neutral approach” that encompasses overall emissions from both fuel and the vehicle rather than solely tailpipe emissions. He also recommended establishing an industry readiness assessment prior to implementation and a program review once it begins.

In other words, Mr. Sommers said the EPA was failing to properly evaluate the emissions associated with EVs, such as the critical mineral mining needed for EV batteries and the need for greater electricity generation. 

“EPA has largely ignored fuel and vehicle-based options that could better accomplish the agency’s objectives to expeditiously achieve greater transportation sector-related emission reductions from the entire vehicle fleet (both new and in-use) at lower cost,” Mr. Sommers said. “Meaningful carbon emission reductions are achievable sooner, and potentially at lower cost, via the use of proven and available technology in liquid fuels.”