NEW YORK, NY – Manhattan Institute adjunct fellow Jonathan Lesser responds to the EPA's new rule limiting automobile tailpipe emissions, aiming to boost electric vehicle (EV) sales in the US:
"The EPA’s proposed rule to force consumers and businesses to purchase EVs – accounting for almost two-thirds of all vehicle sales by 2032 – is absurd on its face. It will be economically ruinous because the price of EVs will skyrocket, as forcing consumers to purchase a product allows manufacturers to raise their prices. Moreover, the huge increase in demand for batteries will elevate their prices following higher costs for raw materials, most of which are sourced from China.
"The new rule also will have no measurable effect on the climate. According to the Administration, the new rule will reduce CO2 emissions a total of 10 billion tons by 2055, that is, over almost 30 years. That reduction, based on impossible forecasts of wind and solar electricity production, is equivalent to about four months of world CO2 emissions, which totaled 34 billion metric tons in 2021.
"Forcing consumers and businesses to purchase vehicles they do not want will backfire spectacularly, but not before imposing yet more damage on Americans’ standard of living."
- Jonathan Lesser is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute. For press inquiries, please contact press officer Nicolas Abouchedid at nabouchedid@manhattan.institute.
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