EGEB: A small Canadian province is a North American electric school bus leader

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Canada’s Prince Edward Island buys 35 more Lion electric school buses, reaching 47 total.
• LG Electronics will cut emissions in its major products by 2030.
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Prince Edward Island’s electric school buses

Canada’s Prince Edward Island may only be around 140 miles (225 km) long and between 2 to 40 miles (3 to 65 km) in width, but it has an oversized presence when it comes to electric school buses.

The province already had 12 Lion Electric LionC school buses that have been servicing routes in the Charlottetown area since early 2021. And it’s just ordered 35 more from the Quebec-based electric urban vehicle maker.

So with 47 all-electric school buses in its fleet, Prince Edward Island will be one of the largest operators of zero-emission school buses in North America.

Lion will also provide 35 Level 2 charging stations to Prince Edward Island.

The purchase was made in part using funds from the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island, which are contributing more than $6.3 million to the clean school bus project through the Green Infrastructure stream of the “Investing in Canada” infrastructure plan.

Natalie Jameson, minister of education and lifelong learning and minister responsible for the status of women, said:

As islanders, we see the impact of climate change every day and recognize the importance of leading by example. By adding 35 new electric school buses to our existing 12 electric school buses, more students will experience the important steps we are taking as a province to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as we work to become cleaner and more sustainable for future generations.

Read more: Switching only 20% of US school buses to electric is a missed opportunity

LG Electronics ups its emissions reduction target

LG Electronics yesterday announced it would cut emissions in the use phase of major LG products such as refrigerators, washing machines, and residential air conditioners by 2030.

LG’s environmental impact report to CDP this year showed that the use phase of its major products accounted for more than 80% of its emissions.

So that also makes LG the first Korean company to participate in the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” campaign, which is a call to action from a global coalition of UN agencies and business and industry leaders to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest in order to limit global warming to 1.5C. The campaign has commitments from nearly 700 global companies.

LG announced its Zero Carbon 2030 initiative in 2019, in which it pledged to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2017 levels in the entire product process, from production to use.

Read more:

• LG Energy Solution to host ‘Battery Innovation Contest’ for $150k annual prize
• Hyundai and LG partner to invest $1.1 billion in Indonesian battery plant

Photo: Lion Electric