The U.S. EPA on April 12 released two proposed rules that aim to implement new emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles starting with model year (MY) 2027. Biofuel groups say the proposed standards overlook the low-carbon benefits of ethanol.

The first of the two proposed rules aims to set new, more stringent standards for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles that would phase in over MY 2027 through 2032. The rulemaking also proposes GHG program revisions in several areas, including off-cycle and air conditioning credits, the treatment of upstream emissions associated with zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in compliance calculations, medium-duty vehicle inventive multipliers, and vehicle certification and compliance. In addition, the proposed rule includes new standards to control refueling emissions from incomplete medium-duty vehicles, and battery durability and warranty requirements for light- and medium-duty plug-in vehicles.

The EPA predicts that the proposed MY 2032 light-duty standards would result in a 56 percent reduction in projected fleet average GHG emission target levels when compared to the existing MY 2026 standards, while the proposed MY 2032 medium-duty vehicle standards would result in a 44 percent reduction when compared to MY 2026 standards. Depending on the compliance pathways manufactures select to meet the standards, the agency projects that electric vehicles (EVs) could account for 67 percent of new light-duty vehicles and 46 percent of new medium-duty vehicle sales in MY 2032.

The second proposed rule aims to set new GHG standards for heavy-duty highway vehicles for MY 2028 through MY 2032 and revise certain GHG standards for MY 2027 that were established under a previous rulemaking. Vehicles impacted by the rulemaking include delivery trucks, refuse haulers or dump trucks, public utility trucks, transit, shuttles, school busses, and trucks typically used to haul freight.

“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris Administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “These ambitious standards are readily achievable thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is already driving historic progress to build more American-made electric cars and secure America’s global competitiveness.”

The GHG emissions standards proposed by EPA are different than corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards set by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The EPA’s GHG standards focus on protecting the public’s health and welfare, while the DOT’s focus with CAFE standards is to promote energy efficiency. The agencies have worked in the past on joint rulemakings to set GHG and CAFE standards for light-duty vehicles but are not required to do so. According to the most recent regulatory agenda released by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to release a proposed rule to set light-duty vehicle CAFE standards for MY 2027 and beyond this year.

That CAFE rulemaking could take into account a rulemaking released by the U.S. Department of Energy on April 11 that proposes to revise its regulations regarding procedures for calculating a value for the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy of EVs for use in the CAFE program administered by the DOT. The proposed rule would update regulations that have been in place for more than two decades. If finalized as proposed, the rule would significantly reduce the fuel efficiency ratings for electric vehicles, which could change the way vehicle manufactures rely on EVs to meet CAFE standards and encourage them to make gasoline-fueled vehicles more efficient.

While it is unclear how the DOE’s EV proposal and the upcoming DOT CAFE rulemaking will impact the transportation fuel industry, representatives of the U.S. ethanol industry are criticizing the EPA’s proposed rules on vehicle GHG emissions. The Renewable Fuels Association said the rule fails to consider the near-term opportunity to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions through the increased use of high-octane, low-carbon ethanol fuel blends.

“While we certainly share the Biden administration’s goals of increasing vehicle efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from transportation, we strongly disagree with policy approaches that arbitrarily pick technology winners and losers with no clear scientific basis,” said Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the RFA. “Today’s EPA proposal would effectively force automakers to produce more battery electric vehicles and strongly discourage them from pursuing other vehicle technologies that could achieve the same—or better—environmental performance at a lower cost to the U.S. economy and American families. We urge EPA to reconsider its proposal and instead adopt a technology-neutral approach that treats all low-carbon transportation options fairly and equally.”

Cooper continued, “As this administration’s own research shows, high-octane, low-carbon renewable fuels like ethanol can immediately deliver dramatic improvements in fuel efficiency and carbon performance when paired with the right engine technologies. But today’s EPA proposal unfortunately ignores the ethanol opportunity and instead declares EVs as the winner, despite mounting evidence that a headlong rush into electrification could lead to a host of unintended environmental and economic consequences.”

RFA has pointed out that a flex fuel vehicle (FFV) running on E85 made from certain forms of ethanol available in the marketplace today would provide similar or even lower carbon emissions at a far lower cost. But today’s EPA proposal disregards the upstream carbon impacts of fuel production—including electricity made from coal or natural gas—and provides no incentive or encouragement for automakers to continue manufacturing FFVs or other liquid-fueled vehicles that can benefit from high-octane, low-carbon ethanol blends. RFA also debuted a plug-in hybrid FFV at the recent National Ethanol Conference, demonstrating that a battery/liquid fuel combination provides the greatest range, lowest cost, and most flexibility for consumers.

“All we are asking for is a level playing field,” said Cooper, who noted that RFA will continue to provide EPA with formal comments and input on the proposal. “If given the same opportunity and an equitable regulatory framework, we are confident that higher ethanol blends—and the vehicles designed to use them—can play an instrumental role in affordable decarbonization of the nation’s light-duty auto fleet.”

Growth Energy said the EPA’s proposal would leave carbon reductions on the table. “Based on early reporting, EPA’s proposed standards show a lack of imagination and ignore the reality that even by the most aggressive estimates, internal combustion engines will still occupy more than half of the light-duty vehicle marketplace by 2040,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “This proposal would constrict innovation and risk leaving millions of tons of carbon reductions on the table—setting us on a path towards eliminating any role for proven, emissions-reducing biofuel blends precisely when we should be embracing a strategy that supports multiple low carbon options.

“In President Biden’s own words, ‘you simply can’t get to net-zero by 2050 without biofuels.’ By disregarding the contributions of low-carbon biofuels, the proposal puts a thumb on the scale for one technology at the expense of others, rather than giving automakers the flexibility to pursue innovative strategies for decarbonizing light-duty vehicles.

“In order for the U.S. to meet its climate goals from the transportation sector, low carbon biofuels must be part of any strategy to drive emissions reductions,” she added. “The proposed standards should drive the adoption of the greatest possible range of technologies and fuels—particularly those that support hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

“Biofuels are a mainstay of any climate strategy looking to attain net-zero emissions by 2050. No other solution offers the same immediate climate benefits while also reducing emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and other smog-forming pollutants linked to cancer and other negative health outcomes,” Skor continued. “Lower-carbon biofuels will be vital to decarbonizing transportation for decades to come, and it’s a mistake for EPA to ignore their track record of success and their unmatched ability to lower emissions right now, as well as in the coming decades."

The American Coalition for Ethanol said the EPA’s proposal will stifle innovation. “We share EPA’s desire to decarbonize the U.S. passenger fleet but believe there is a better way than arbitrarily regulating a solution with significant unknowns,” said Brian Jennings, CEO of ACE. “As EPA Agriculture Advisor Rod Snyder told ACE members just last month, there is no question we will be using liquid transportation fuels for a long time to come, our lifetimes. Appreciating this truth, ACE members are dedicated to producing domestic biofuels with net-negative carbon scores – something that EVs will never achieve. 

“Effective federal policy would incent the market to deliver multiple technologies to decarbonize the transportation sector such as through a technology-neutral federal Clean Fuel Standard that sets aggressive reduction goals beginning now,” he added. “With properly crafted policy, low carbon biofuels can serve as a low-cost, technologically proven means to meet decarbonization goals in the near and long term while creating economic opportunities in rural America.  

“Unfortunately, today’s proposal isn’t that,” Jennings continued. “Today’s proposal would stifle innovation and slow near-term climate reductions in exchange for a future of supply chain uncertainty and exacerbating environmental damage and human rights impacts from unsustainable mining of critical minerals across the globe. There has to be a better way.

“Rather than put all our eggs in the electric vehicle basket, a smarter and more achievable approach would be through a technology-neutral Clean Fuel Standard that ensures fair and accurate accounting and crediting of GHG reductions from climate-smart agriculture practices and unleashes homegrown fuel sources.”