Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced Sunday that he would not vote for the bill, jeopardizing its passage in a Senate where Biden needs a vote of all Democrats for the legislation to overcome objections – and votes in against the republicans

President Joe Biden tightened fuel consumption rules for cars sold in the United States from 2023, now that the project with which he planned to finance the fight against climate change is on the tightrope.

The new measures announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday reverse the less stringent rules of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.

The announcement came  as Biden’s massive Build Back Better social spending plan  may have taken a fatal blow after a key Democratic senator said he would not support the 1.75 trillion cost bill. dollars and which includes the financing of new initiatives to combat climate change.

“We’ve followed science, listened to stakeholders, and set strong and rigorous standards that will vigorously reduce pollution that harms people and our planet, while saving families money,” the EPA reported.

The new consumption rules would be introduced gradually over three years starting in 2023, and in 2026 the objectives set by the Executive should be achieved.

According to the new EPA rules, by 2026 cars (including SUVs and pick-ups) must be able to travel 55 miles or 88.5 kilometers at a continuous speed on one gallon of fuel (almost 4 liters), or 40 miles or 64.4 kilometers in real traffic conditions.

To achieve this, the government relies on the ability of automakers to improve the technical performance of engines, but also with increased sales of electric vehicles.

“By mid-2026, the EPA predicts that final standards can be met, with about 17% of electric vehicles sold and wider adoption of the advanced gasoline engine technology available today, ” the agency noted.

The agency estimates that “US drivers will save between 210,000 and 420,000 million dollars (between 186,000 and 372,000 million euros) by 2050 in fuel costs.”

American automakers have already announced significant investments to make more fuel-efficient cars and electric vehicles, but the Alliance for Automotive Innovation industry group warns that it will be difficult to comply with the new measures without help from the government.

EPA’s ultimate goal for greenhouse gas emissions “requires a substantial increase in electric vehicle sales,” declared alliance president John Bozzella.

The success of these standards is through “the enactment of government policies is supportive, including consumer incentives, substantial infrastructure growth … and support for manufacturing and supply chain development,” he added.

Reduce Emissions

Unlike Trump, Biden has made tackling climate change a priority and was counting on his Better Rebuild measure to pay for programs designed to do so.

But Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced Sunday that he would not vote for the bill, jeopardizing its passage in a Senate where Biden needs a vote of all Democrats for the legislation to overcome objections – and votes in against the Republicans.

Controlling emissions is one of the most direct ways for the White House to act against pollution. According to the EPA, the new regulation would prevent more than 3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The current emissions regulation, approved in March 2020 by the Trump administration, asks manufacturers to improve the performance of their models by 1.5% annually between 2021 and 2026, compared to the 5% required by the government of his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama.

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