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The EPA’s tailpipe-pollution limits wouldn’t require automakers to sell a specific number of EVs every year. Automakers can meet EPA regulations not just through pure-electric vehicle sales, but also through a sales mix including hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plus cleaner internal-combustion engine vehicles. The EPA has also said that the auto industry could employ widespread use of particulate filters, which mitigate the soot emitted from conventional gasoline-fueled engines. “In order to stay on track to meeting overall climate policy goals that have been adopted by the country, I think it’s important to be aggressive in this sector where you have the technology, progress is being made, there’s momentum in markets,” said Jessika Trancik, a professor in energy studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This can be a really important part of the overall effort to reach 2030 and ultimately, 2050 emissions reduction targets. “There are a number of different ways you can improve efficiencies and reduce emissions,” Trancik added. But, “If you want to meet those targets, fully electric vehicles are probably going to be a really important tool, at least in part, to allow for that because they do offer the greatest emissions cuts.” The EPA is also proposing regulations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and the government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has separately proposed a fuel-economy increase.
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