Will every new car and truck in the U.S. be electric by 2035?

The U.S. lags behind China and Europe in the transition from internal combustion engine to battery-powered cars. There are some bright spots in the U.S. though. California was the first state announcing plans to ban new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2035. Then, Massachusetts followed. A few other states also appear to be moving in the right direction. According to Adele Peters in Fast Company, "The transition to EVs can happen faster than you think."

Above: A group of electric cars getting charged up (Flickr: Andrew Bone)

How? First and foremost, battery prices have dropped 74% since 2014. “All the experts have been wrong on how fast the battery prices are going to reduce,” explains Nikit Abhyankar, a researcher at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the authors of a fascinating new report. According to the report, it’s feasible for the U.S. to make the shift to 100% electric car and truck sales by 2035.

And this new report says the transition to EVs can save money and lives. "If new car and truck sales rapidly shift to electric, the report calculates that consumers would save $2.7 trillion... [and] reduce air pollution, preventing 150,000 premature deaths and avoiding $1.3 trillion in health and environmental costs by 2050," reports Peters.

In addition, the findings from the report indicate that the transition to electric cars can help "avoid the worst impacts of climate change—and the switch would also save consumers around $1,000 per household each year."

To make it happen, the U.S. government needs to take swift action to help expedite the move to cleaner, greener transport. “The transition from fossil-fuel-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles is already underway, but America needs increased policy ambition and political leadership to truly accelerate market transformation,” explains Sara Baldwin, director of electrification policy at the nonprofit Energy Innovation and one of the partners that produced the report. 

Baldwin emphasizes, “Policy actions must be taken swiftly and should be aligned with the timeline needed to reduce transportation sector emissions, deliver huge benefits to consumers, and enhance America’s global competitiveness."

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Source: Fast Company