The next European commissioner for sustainable transport drew a hard line in a hearing this week: Apostolos Tzitzikostas backs e-mobility and has no intention of watering down the EU’s plan to ban new registrations for ICE cars in 2035. Problem is, it’s not clear how he aims to make this happen.
Expand Expanding Close
According to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 300,000 people die each year from respiratory illness caused by poor air quality, with millions more falling ill. Now, European citizens might be able to claim compensation for health problems caused by
failure to comply with pollution limits.
Renault CEO Luca de Meo said today that automakers collectively may need to pay ~€15B in fines if they miss 2025 emissions targets, as they’ve failed to ramp up efficient vehicle production in line with EU guidance – even as consumer EV demand continues to rise in Europe.
Expand Expanding Close
European automakers including Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover had to pay $552 million in fines for missing CO2 emission targets in 2020, the first year new regulations were put in place, according to a new report.
Expand Expanding Close
A new study from UC Berkeley confirms what EV fans already know: EV adoption does, in fact, make the air cleaner. Perhaps even more importantly, the study offers some quantifiable, granular data about how much electric vehicles are impacting emission rates in the here and now, not just in the foreseeable future.
Expand Expanding Close
MEPs of the European Union voted to adopt strict new rules regarding emissions from trucking and busses today, seeking a 90% reduction in total fleet CO2 emissions by 2040 — but there’s a big loophole involved. While initial planning from the EU Commission sought to categorize effectively all ICE trucks and busses as CO2-emitting, the EU Parliament has other ideas.
Expand Expanding Close
You will soon be able to catch a breath of fresh air in downtown Portland. The city is planning to establish a zero-emission delivery zone to promote a safe and cleaner way of moving goods in the area. The project will be the first in the nation of its kind.
Expand Expanding Close
A leading pest control agency in Texas, SafeHaven, in collaboration with Merge Electric Fleet Solutions, announced Tuesday that its EV pilot program found that deploying a Ford F-150 Lightning reduced CO2 emissions by 78% compared to its current Ford pickup.
Expand Expanding Close
Through its joint project, MaterialLoop, Audi is proving you can turn old cars into new ones. The project aims to “close the loop” on materials, such as steel, aluminum, plastic, and glass, recycling them to build new cars and significantly reduce emissions and waste.
Expand Expanding Close
Research shows electric vehicles are better for the environment. Not only do they emit fewer CO2 emissions, but you also don’t have to worry about falling victim to volatile gas prices. Ford shows us just how much you can save by driving electric vehicles compared to an equivalent gas car.
Expand Expanding Close
The US has just joined the global drive to achieve 100% zero-emission truck and bus sales by 2040. By signing the nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU), the US establishes a clear path for heavy- and medium-duty vehicles, from EV school buses to tractors, to generate zero emissions.
Expand Expanding Close
Signs are surfacing that the rollout of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources is working as designed. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), record EV and clean energy deployment are contributing to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions in 2022.
Expand Expanding Close
Rhode Island has passed a law requiring all of the state’s electricity to be offset by renewable energy by 2033 – the fastest timeline of any state in the US.
Expand Expanding Close
British automaker Bentley has shared new data outlining its progress toward becoming carbon neutral throughout its entire global supply chain. The automaker’s “Dream Factory” headquarters in Crewe, England is already carbon neutral, but Bentley’s latest numbers show how much of a decrease it has made in its overall environmental impact the past year alone.
Expand Expanding Close
Ford Motor Company and University of Michigan researchers explored what light-duty vehicle electrification means for the decarbonization of the transportation industry in a study that was published online on March 1 in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
Expand Expanding Close
Citing a report which found hybrid cars offered negligible emissions and fuel consumption advantages when tested on Switzerland’s Alpine roads, one Swiss region has decided to “pull the plug” on subsidies – even calling the claims of hybrids’ environmental advantages a “con.”
Expand Expanding Close
A court in the Netherlands today ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels. Previous to the ruling, Shell’s emissions reduction target was 20% by 2030.
It’s the first time activists have taken a major energy company to court to get it to overhaul its climate strategy, and they were successful.
Expand Expanding Close
This week, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would invest $25 billion to convert the entire US fleet of ICE school buses to electric vehicles. The bill would authorize federal grant money over the course of 10 years, and 40% of the funds would be specifically devoted to replacing school buses operating in mostly nonwhite, poorer communities.
Expand Expanding Close
The libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) believes that Donald Trump didn’t go far enough to slash clean car standards. So it filed the first of many lawsuits to challenge the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era fuel efficiency rules.
There is a schism forming between European automakers. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) last week asked to delay the EU’s CO2 targets. On one side, you have German carmakers, who are ACEA members but have invested in electric vehicles. The German carmakers don’t want the delay. However, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Mike Manley and now president of ACEA, represents those who oppose strict emission rules. Manley signed the letter pleading to the European Commission to relax the CO2 targets.
Transport for London (TFL) this week suspended charges for its Ultra Low Emission Zone. London Mayor Sadiq Khan asked TFL to make these changes to allow key workers, including the National Health Service staff and those delivering medicine and groceries, to get around “as easily as possible.”
Inrix, the location-data company, reports that the volume of traffic in the US is down 30% in March. Late last week, it fell by 50% in San Francisco, the first region to shelter in place. Across California, and in New York and Michigan, traffic had the largest statewide drops at about 37%. As a result, vehicle emissions also fell. Sadly, this is likely to provide only short-term relief in auto-related emissions.
The center of gravity in the EV world is shifting to Europe. A report released last week from McKinsey, the consulting firm, pegs Germany to become the world market leader for electric cars by 2021, with more than 1.7 million electric vehicles produced.
The world’s biggest gains in EV sales this year are expected in Europe. That’s because automakers face hefty fines if they don’t meet fleet-average CO2 emissions that increased in 2020 and continue a steep rise in the coming years. A new report from PA Consulting, a global consulting firm, shows that Europe’s 13 top auto manufacturers will face more than €14.5 billion in fines. Electric-car sales are increasing but not fast enough.
