U.S. government to end gas-powered vehicle purchases by 2035 under Biden order

The U.S. government plans to end purchases of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 in a move to lower emissions and promote electric cars under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

The government owns more than 650,000 vehicles and purchases about 50,000 annually. Biden's executive order said that light-duty vehicles acquired by the government will be emission-free by 2027.

Total federal government operations will reduce emissions by 65% by 2030 under the plan. The government will seek to consume electricity only from carbon-free and non-polluting sources on a net annual basis by 2030 and have net-zero emissions by 2050.

The order noted the U.S. government is "the single largest land owner, energy consumer and employer in the nation" and can transform "how we build, buy and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings and other operations to be clean and sustainable."

In January, Biden vowed to replace the U.S. government’s fleet with electric models. Only 0.5% of the government's 657,000 vehicles were electric as of 2020. In 2020, the government spent $4.2 billion on vehicle costs, including $730 million for fuel.

Biden in August launched a plan to make half of all new U.S. vehicles electric in 2030. That included plug-in hybrid-electric models that also have gasoline engines.

Source: Reuters