EPA Expected To Relax Auto Emissions Standards In The Next Few Years, But Reach Strict Limit By 2032

FILE - Traffic enters lower Manhattan after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, Feb. 8, 2024, in New York. The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed limits in the next few years but reach the same strict standards outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency last year. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed limits for three years but eventually reach the same strict standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The changes come as sales of zero-tailpipe emissions electric vehicles, needed to meet the standards, have started to slow.

The auto industry has cited lower sales growth in objecting to the EPA’s preferred standards unveiled last April as part of the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.

The changes appear aimed at addressing strong industry opposition to the accelerated ramp-up of EVs, along with public reluctance to fully embrace the new technology.