Released July 14, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Energy, transportation and food trade groups on July 11 sent President Joe Biden a letter objecting to the speed and scope of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft rule tightening vehicle tailpipe emission standards. But as notable as the more than 100 signatories to the letter were, equally notable were its non-signatories, including automobile manufacturing groups, automakers, energy companies and food companies.
Commenting on the letter, sent by the American Petroleum Institute (API) (Washington, D.C.), David Pickering, Industrial Info Resources' vice president of research for the Industrial Manufacturing segment, said, "Automakers are starting to rethink electric vehicles (EVs). They're still advertising them, but they're not building them and the public isn't buying them. They hedging their bets, recalibrating their ambitions."
"A lot of this has to do with the nascent stage of EV charging network," he continued. "The large automakers, including Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan), while they are making investments in EVs and EV battery manufacturing plants, also are making hefty investments in internal combustion engines (ICEs). It's not that they oppose EVs, but their support appears to be more measured than it was a year or two ago."
The July 11 letter follows the API's lengthy campaign against EPA's effort to tighten vehicle tailpipe emission standards. Separate from its letter to Biden, the oil trade group said the EPA's draft rules, if enacted, they would force automakers' sales to be 60% electric by 2030 and 67% EV by 2032, which amounted to a "de facto ban" on ICEs. For more on the EPA's draft rule, see April 13, 2023, article - Biden EPA Seeks to Boost EV Sales by Tightening Vehicle Tailpipe Emission Standards.
The July 11 letter said, "We share the goal of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the broader economy and, specifically, those from energy production, transportation, and use by society. EPA's proposals inhibit the marketplace from identifying the most efficient, lowest cost opportunities to reduce GHG emissions from vehicles and greatly restrict consumer choice. We are concerned that such a prescriptive policy is not in the best interest of the consumer or of U.S. energy and economic security."
Large oil and gas companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), which have been touting their investment in lower-carbon businesses, did not sign the letter. API could have been acting on their behalf. Similarly, the letter was not signed by any automaker or food company.
The letter urged the Biden administration's EPA to rethink its draft rules on vehicle tailpipe emissions standards for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Those draft rules, released this spring, sought to significantly tighten those standards to accelerate the transition to electric cars and trucks.
The letter continued: "A diversified portfolio of vehicle and fuel technologies that meets the multitude of transportation needs of Americans and makes meaningful greenhouse gas reductions can be achieved while also allowing new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), and specifically battery electric vehicle (BEV), technologies to advance. Improved crop yield, innovative biofuel and refined product processing, and manufacturing efficiency tied with carbon capture each represent promising advancements for current liquid and gaseous fuels to continue to accelerate emissions reductions."
The signatories touted the benefits of a light regulatory hand that preserved customer choice: "EPA's proposals inhibit the marketplace from identifying the most efficient, lowest cost opportunities to reduce GHG emissions from vehicles and greatly restrict consumer choice. We are concerned that such a prescriptive policy is not in the best interest of the consumer or of U.S. energy and economic security. According to the EPA, fuel and vehicle technologies have reduced emissions from common pollutants by roughly 99% in both light- and heavy-duty vehicles and buses, and CO2 emissions from light-duty internal combustion engine vehicles have decreased 25% since model year 2004."
It cited data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that said there are about 272 million ICEs on the road today, and the EIA projects over 140 million ICE sales will occur between 2023 and 2032. Further, the EIA projects there will be about 269 million ICEs in the national fleet in 2050 along with 47 million battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Many of the signatories were state agricultural groups, such as Agricultural Retailers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Connecticut Farm Bureau Association and the Indiana Food & Fuel Association. Several API state affiliate organizations, including API Colorado, API Gulf Coast Region, API Illinois, API Midwest Region, API Northeast Region, API Ohio, API Pennsylvania and API Southeast Region, also signed the letter.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Commenting on the letter, sent by the American Petroleum Institute (API) (Washington, D.C.), David Pickering, Industrial Info Resources' vice president of research for the Industrial Manufacturing segment, said, "Automakers are starting to rethink electric vehicles (EVs). They're still advertising them, but they're not building them and the public isn't buying them. They hedging their bets, recalibrating their ambitions."
"A lot of this has to do with the nascent stage of EV charging network," he continued. "The large automakers, including Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan), while they are making investments in EVs and EV battery manufacturing plants, also are making hefty investments in internal combustion engines (ICEs). It's not that they oppose EVs, but their support appears to be more measured than it was a year or two ago."
The July 11 letter follows the API's lengthy campaign against EPA's effort to tighten vehicle tailpipe emission standards. Separate from its letter to Biden, the oil trade group said the EPA's draft rules, if enacted, they would force automakers' sales to be 60% electric by 2030 and 67% EV by 2032, which amounted to a "de facto ban" on ICEs. For more on the EPA's draft rule, see April 13, 2023, article - Biden EPA Seeks to Boost EV Sales by Tightening Vehicle Tailpipe Emission Standards.
The July 11 letter said, "We share the goal of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the broader economy and, specifically, those from energy production, transportation, and use by society. EPA's proposals inhibit the marketplace from identifying the most efficient, lowest cost opportunities to reduce GHG emissions from vehicles and greatly restrict consumer choice. We are concerned that such a prescriptive policy is not in the best interest of the consumer or of U.S. energy and economic security."
Large oil and gas companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), which have been touting their investment in lower-carbon businesses, did not sign the letter. API could have been acting on their behalf. Similarly, the letter was not signed by any automaker or food company.
The letter urged the Biden administration's EPA to rethink its draft rules on vehicle tailpipe emissions standards for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Those draft rules, released this spring, sought to significantly tighten those standards to accelerate the transition to electric cars and trucks.
The letter continued: "A diversified portfolio of vehicle and fuel technologies that meets the multitude of transportation needs of Americans and makes meaningful greenhouse gas reductions can be achieved while also allowing new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), and specifically battery electric vehicle (BEV), technologies to advance. Improved crop yield, innovative biofuel and refined product processing, and manufacturing efficiency tied with carbon capture each represent promising advancements for current liquid and gaseous fuels to continue to accelerate emissions reductions."
The signatories touted the benefits of a light regulatory hand that preserved customer choice: "EPA's proposals inhibit the marketplace from identifying the most efficient, lowest cost opportunities to reduce GHG emissions from vehicles and greatly restrict consumer choice. We are concerned that such a prescriptive policy is not in the best interest of the consumer or of U.S. energy and economic security. According to the EPA, fuel and vehicle technologies have reduced emissions from common pollutants by roughly 99% in both light- and heavy-duty vehicles and buses, and CO2 emissions from light-duty internal combustion engine vehicles have decreased 25% since model year 2004."
It cited data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that said there are about 272 million ICEs on the road today, and the EIA projects over 140 million ICE sales will occur between 2023 and 2032. Further, the EIA projects there will be about 269 million ICEs in the national fleet in 2050 along with 47 million battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Many of the signatories were state agricultural groups, such as Agricultural Retailers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Connecticut Farm Bureau Association and the Indiana Food & Fuel Association. Several API state affiliate organizations, including API Colorado, API Gulf Coast Region, API Illinois, API Midwest Region, API Northeast Region, API Ohio, API Pennsylvania and API Southeast Region, also signed the letter.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
