Switching to an electric vehicle is one of the most impactful changes that an individual can make to reduce their personal contribution to climate change, and making that choice is becoming easier. That's because with each year, companies are offering more electric vehicles models at various price points, including more affordable ones, and charging stations are becoming more widely available. But despite the momentum in the private sector, the transition to electric vehicles still needs government policy. Policy will largely determine how rapid, smooth, and widely beneficial the transition will be. Tax rebates for consumers at the point of purchase and investment in charging infrastructure are particularly important, and both have been included in the U.S. government's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Transportation in the United States contributes approximately 30 percent of emissions, with about 60 percent of that coming from light-duty vehicles including cars. Switching to an electric vehicle in the U.S. allows a driver to drop their emissions by 30 percent to 60 percent even if they continue to drive the same amount (and more if they drive less and walk, bike or use public transit instead). These numbers include the emissions from producing electric vehicles, including the larger batteries required, and the emissions from electricity. Although the U.S. still uses fossil fuels for electricity it does not only use fossil fuels, and the use of carbon-intensive coal has declined. The net effect is a substantial savings from a car using electricity as compared to one using gasoline or diesel. (The higher-end savings are in states with less coal and more renewables, like California, and overall savings will increase as the electricity mix decarbonizes.)
Because of these emissions savings, government policy that accelerates a transition in this sector can be particularly impactful for countering climate change (particularly if combined with investment in public transit and infrastructure to encourage human-powered transport). And although electric vehicles are becoming more affordable, and chargers more available, government policy is needed to nudge private markets toward investments that make this technology accessible to everyone and not just the wealthy.
The first area where policy is needed is to help with the higher upfront costs of electric vehicles. For consumers concerned about their carbon footprint, or simply wanting to enjoy the benefits of an electric vehicle, such as higher driving performance and less maintenance, there are an increasing number of models available at lower prices. But while the total costs of ownership of an electric vehicle are comparable to a gas powered one, the upfront costs are still higher. That is because the fuel cost savings of an EV require investment in a more costly powertrain. While some consumers may have access to the funds needed to make those higher payments, many may not be able to do so. Government policy that provides a rebate at the point of purchase, as the IRA tax credits do, can help people overcome this barrier and allow for more widespread adoption of EVs, and benefit the climate. Over time these credits should be phased out as vehicle and battery costs decline further.
Investment in charging infrastructure is also vital but needs to be directed strategically. As we have shown in our research, certain charger locations are far more effective than others at allowing for the convenient adoption of electric vehicles, and predictably so even when considering the divergent driving patterns of different people. Residential charging—meaning charging wherever people park when they are at home, including in private spots, public parking lots and residential roads—can cover the vast majority of days (above 90 percent for most people, even for cars with smaller batteries) without delaying travel, and actually saving time on gasoline or diesel refueling. Offering overnight charging at locations such as hotels and fast charging at highway rest stops and along long rural roads can cover people's need on the few remaining days of the year (the 'high-energy days'), with only short delays.
Workplace charging is another priority location because it can benefit the power grid, by allowing the grid to use energy that might otherwise be wasted during the peak hours of solar radiation and by flattening the EV charging peak that is otherwise expected on commuting days. These workplace chargers are more beneficial for utilizing solar energy if they are the less expensive, slower chargers, because their use will be spread throughout the day. (Importantly, workplace charging is not a good substitute for residential charging, since the latter is critical for allowing people to use electric vehicles as their only cars, including on weekends.)
Much expansion in charging infrastructure is still needed to reach this scenario. While most of the investment required will continue to come from the private sector, government policy has a critical role to play in incentivizing the investment in areas where charging infrastructure is more costly to install or is predicted to be less profitable, such as in some urban areas and very low-density rural ones. The IRA and BIL offer investments and tax credits to achieve these outcomes and progress should be closely monitored.
The shift to electric vehicles is being driven by innovation and competition in the private sector, but government policy will significantly determine the benefits to people and the climate. Policy is needed to make EVs widely accessible to people while the technology and markets continue to mature and, in this way, to ensure the process moves quickly enough to help slow the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Jessika E. Trancik is a professor in the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research examines the costs, performance, and environmental impacts of energy systems to inform technology development and climate policy.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
