The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden will call for up to half of all new vehicles made in the United States to be electric in some form by the end of the 2020s.

Officials said Biden will sign an executive order that calls for between 40% and 50% of vehicles sold to be emissions-free and battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric or fuel cell electric.

The effort is in line with goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, which the United States rejoined this year under Biden.

“The executive order also kicks off development of long-term fuel efficiency and emissions standards to save consumers money, cut pollution, boost public health, advance environmental justice and tackle the climate crisis,” the White House said in a statement.

“The global market is shifting to electric vehicles and tapping their potential to save families money, lower pollution and make the air we breathe cleaner.”

Biden’s administration said part of the effort includes new rule changes by the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department from those imposed by the government of former President Donald Trump, which it said adopted “harmful rollbacks of near-term fuel efficiency and emissions standards.”

“Through these coordinated notices of proposed rulemaking, the two agencies are advancing smart fuel efficiency and emissions standards that would deliver around $140 billion in net benefits over the life of the program, save about 200 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce around 2 billion metric tons of carbon pollution,” the White House said.

Biden is scheduled to sign the order at the White House at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday.

Political and automotive leaders support the effort.”Our recent product, technology and investment announcements highlight our collective commitment to be leaders in the U.S. transition to electric vehicles,” Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the “Big Three” U.S. automakers, said in a joint statement.

“Today, Ford, GM and Stellantis announce their shared aspiration to achieve sales of 40-50% of annual U.S. volumes of electric vehicles (battery electric, fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles) by 2030.”

In his remarks, United Auto Workers President Ray Curry warned that the United States is falling behind China and Europe in zero-emission vehicle production.

“Fortunately, President Biden recognizes the importance of this moment,” Curry said in a statement. “[This plan] makes the bold investments in manufacturing, consumer incentives and infrastructure needed to ensure vehicles of the future are made in our country.”

“We support the administration’s goal of reaching an electric vehicle future and applaud President Biden’s leadership on reducing emissions and investing in critical infrastructure to achieve these reductions,” Ford added in a joint statement with BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and Honda.

“These new proposed rules are a critical step forward and will benefit our health, economy and planet,” added Julie Ceqeira, executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance.

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