Joe Biden announced a broad environmental plan Tuesday that includes provisions to broaden the federal electric-car tax credit and revive the "Cash for Clunkers" program.
"Biden will restore the full electric vehicle tax credit to incentivize the purchase of these vehicles," a statement on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's campaign website said. "He will ensure the tax credit is designed to targeted middle class consumers and, to the greatest extent possible, to prioritize the purchase of vehicles made in America."
To further support electric cars, Biden also proposed adding more than 500,000 public charging stations by the end of 2030.
The former vice president is also endorsing a Senate bill that would give incentives for car owners who replace older vehicles with new, more efficient models. It's essentially a return of the Cash for Clunkers program from the beginning of the Obama Administration.
But when it comes to curbing carbon emissions, Biden is looking to exceed the achievements of his former boss.
2020 Tesla Model 3
If elected president, Biden said he would propose new fuel-economy standards that go beyond what was put in place during the Obama administration. Biden is also calling for 100% clean electricity by 2035, a more direct approach than Obama, who used a cap-and-trade program to curb emissions, the Washington Post noted.
It's unclear what specific form a revived Cash for Clunkers program might take, but after a lung-related pandemic, the logic follows that emissions should be the foundation of any new program, not gas mileage, as with the previous program.
Meanwhile, the battle over the EV tax credit has in the past year pitted automakers, who want it expanded, against oil interests.
An expansion of the EV tax credit was on the table in December but was killed by the White House.
The Trump administration had already attempted to end the credit completely—even though it has strong bipartisan support.