Sioux Falls, surrounding communities oppose Biden administration on greenhouse gas rules

The Biden administration has set 2050 as the year for achieving economy wide net-zero emissions.

Sioux Falls and surrounding communities are opposing a proposed Biden administration rule that would require state and local governments to establish targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions generated by vehicles.

Proposed by the Federal Highway Administration in July, the rule would address an “increasingly urgent climate crisis,” according to the text of the proposal. That crisis, it continues, has warmed the atmosphere, caused oceans to rise and generated extreme weather events, including hurricanes, wild fires, heat waves, droughts and heavy precipitation.

“These changes in extreme events, along with anticipated future changes in these events due to climate change, threaten the reliability, safety and efficiency of the transportation system and the people who rely on it to move themselves and transport goods,” the proposal says.