U.S. Governors Call on Joe Biden to Reduce Transportation Industry Emissions by 100% by 2045

The governors of a dozen states in the United States, including California, New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina, on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to approve the End of sales of gasoline-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, a radical shift from fossil fuels.

Biden’s $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure plan includes roughly $ 174 billion in spending and tax credits to boost the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging networks, but does not include l phasing out of vehicles from gasoline passenger transport.

In a letter, the governors, which also include those of Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington state and Rhode Island, urged Biden to establish “To ensure that all new passenger cars and light trucks sold are ‘zero emissions’ by 2035, with important steps along the way to monitor progress.”

The letter argues that “By establishing a clear regulatory path to ensure that all vehicles sold in the United States are ‘zero emissions’, we can finally clean the air and create jobs on major highways.”

Governors also want Biden sets standards and adopts incentives to ensure 100% of medium and heavy vehicle sales by 2045 are ‘zero emissions’.

In this sense, they argue that “From China to the European Union, a race has begun to lead the revolution in manufacturing” zero-emission transport to which many companies have already committed, it takes “strong federal leadership” for the United States to remain “competitive”.

For now, the White House did not immediately comment on the letter from the governors.

States and some legislators hope that If the Democratic president supports the idea of ​​setting a gas phase-out deadline, it will accelerate the transition to electric vehicles on the part of users and automakers.

Currently, electric vehicles represent only 2% of vehicle sales in the United States. Several U.S. lawmakers have urged Biden to follow the lead of California, which in September announced plans to end sales of new gasoline passenger cars by 2035.

However, Biden’s campaign team said last fall that he did not support California’s phase-out plan.

In March, a group of 71 House Democrats have urged Biden to establish strict emissions rules to ensure that 60% of new passenger cars and trucks sold will be “zero emissions” by 2030.while 10 senators asked him to set a date by which fossil fuel vehicles will cease to be fully sold.

General Motors said in January that it was working on the goal of ending all sales of gasoline cars and trucks by 2035. Volvo, a unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding, said its entire line of cars would be fully electric by 2030 and that Ford’s European line would as well. something similar.

In their letter, the governors express their wish that Biden rescind fuel economy standards that were in effect under the Donald Trump administration and provide states with “substantial funds for investments in charging and refueling infrastructure.”

They also called for the removal or increase of tax credit limits for the manufacture of electric vehicles.

But not everyone supported a plan to phase out fossil fuel cars. Rory Gamble, presidente del sindicato de United Auto Workers, ha expresado su cautela sobre el cambio a los vehículos eléctricos, señalando que se necesitan menos trabajadores para construire vehículos eléctricos que los vehículos a gasolina y dijo que “los trabajadores nopropadores sufrirente good”.

Last month, Gamble said the government must ensure that the transition to electric vehicles “is stable, reliable and generates quality salaried jobs and adaptable to market demand without depending on a one-size-fits-all solution.”.

On the eve of the Leaders’ Climate Change Summit

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

The summit, which will work until Friday and it will function 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 that accelerate climate change around the world.

To lead, great proposals are needed and, to this end, Biden pledges to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2030, almost double the initial target his country set itself under the Paris Agreement.

Washington will pressure all nations to reduce their dependence on coal, the secretary of state said on Monday. Antony blink, warning that “we will not have much of the world” without stronger US leadership on climate change.

With information from Reuters

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