FOR RELEASE: 07/27/2021
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) sent a letter to congressional leaders explaining how federal investments can accelerate domestic electric vehicle (EV) adoption. The letter provides U.S. House and Senate leaders with specific policy guidance to illustrate why investing in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty EV consumer incentives, charging infrastructure, domestic manufacturing, critical materials supply chain resilience, and transit and fleet electrification will expedite the United States’ transition to EVs and boost our ascendant EV manufacturing sector. Several members of Congress have introduced legislation that will help achieve these important outcomes, so the letter highlights which of those proposals should be included in the infrastructure package as negotiations proceed.
“ZETA looks forward to working with congressional leadership to accelerate the transition to EVs,” said Joe Britton, ZETA’s Executive Director. “We hope that our policy roadmap serves as a helpful guide, and we urge Congress to work together to pass comprehensive legislation that will enable 100% EV sales by 2030.”
EVs will become only more popular as the United States strives to reduce our carbon emissions. The International Energy Agency recently published a report calling for an “immediate and massive deployment of all available clean and efficient energy technologies.” EVs are at least 67% less carbon-intensive over their lifetimes than are gas-powered vehicles, and reducing our emissions by electrifying transportation could prevent hundreds to thousands of premature deaths and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year.
The rise of EVs also presents an indisputable opportunity to grow the U.S. economy and create good-paying American jobs. Over 250,000 Americans already work in the domestic EV sector; with appropriate government investment, analysts expect the industry to create over two million jobs in the United States in the coming decades. States like Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, Arizona, and the Carolinas have already seen economic boons from EV and advanced battery manufacturing investments. Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee went so far as to call a forthcoming $2.3 billion advanced battery plant the “largest single investment of economic activity in the state's history.” By adopting policies that will expedite EV adoption, the federal government has an opportunity to ensure that American workers and consumers will benefit from this sector’s continuing development.
“Transportation is the largest carbon-emitting sector in the United States and is responsible for 29% of our total emissions,” said Britton. “The rapidly growing domestic EV market grants us a unique opportunity to reduce our emissions and address climate change – and also restore American leadership in automotive manufacturing, create good-paying jobs, and improve public health.”
About ZETA
The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is a federal coalition focused on advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030. ZETA is committed to enacting policies that drive EV adoption, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing dominance, drastically improve public health, and significantly reduce carbon pollution.
