The uneven distribution of public EV charging stations and limited charging infrastructure across the United States impedes the country from wholly electrifying all its vehicles.
But transitioning from fossil-fueled cars to electric cars is one of the solutions to reduce the country’s GHG emissions. According to the EPA, by sectors, US transportation accounts for 29% of the country’s total emissions in 2019, The Conversation reports.
But by simply transitioning to EV cars, a third of the emissions will be avoided compared to using a gas-fueled vehicle. According to the recent life cycle study, more emissions will further be avoided as power grids transition to renewable energy sources.
If EVs are significant for climate change, then why are people not transitioning fast enough?
The answers are simple. EVs are more expensive than traditional internal combustion engines (ICE). Some long-distance drivers like truckers and delivery vehicles driving across states have ‘range anxiety,’ or the fear that a vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination would thus strand the vehicle’s occupants.
According to The Conversation article:
The US currently has 107,000 gas stations with multiple pumps, 43,000 public EV charging stations with about 106,000 outlets.
While it only takes minutes to fill your car with gas enough to keep you going for hundreds of km, EV outlets can only cater to one car at a time. Fast charging outlets take at least 1 hour to give you 180 to 240 miles, but most outlets take much longer. Also, a third of these public EV charging stations are in California.
According to Paul Edwards, author of the article, the current situation is also an example of why climate change is an infrastructure problem in the United States. The distribution of Public EV charging stations across the map shows that they are primarily concentrated in eastern and western coastal states, with the middle states sparsely distributed.
Internal combustion engines (ICE) have dominated America for 120 years – enough time to develop a dependency on fossil fuels. And gas-fueled cars are just at the tip of a massive fossil-fueled dependent system in the country – oil wells, pipelines, refineries, etc. – which in itself represents an enormous production and distribution infrastructure that also cater to other industries.
The good news is that getting an EV is suitable for your wallet. The article says that although EV requires a high upfront cost, in the long haul, it will save its owner US$10,000 in fuel and maintenance, reasons why many large US delivery companies have switched to EVs.
But to maximize GHG emissions savings, other appliances like water heaters, heat pumps, and stoves would also need to be electrified.
A 2020 Net-Zero study by Princeton University that it would take an investment of US$600 billion which includes the infrastructure for the US, to transition to a low-carbon grid by 2030. The budget includes $157 billion for EVs and another $82 billion for power grid updates.
However, the US Senate slashed 90% of the EV budget, leaving $15 billion for EVs, some to purchase electric school buses and $7.5 billion to install 500,000 EV charging networks. These only cover half the amount needed to do the job, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The elements that were dropped in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the Congress has now included in the proposed $3.5 trillion budget plan, which incorporates many of President Biden’s climate proposals, tax credits for renewable energy and EVs, a carbon tax on imports, and requirements to increase renewable sources to the power grid, the article says.
All these proposals discussed in the article – expansion of EV charging infrastructure throughout the United States, investment in renewable energy infrastructure, and transition to low-carbon energy are needed to avert the consequences of climate change.
And suppose the US, the largest economy and the 2nd largest GHG emitter globally, chooses to act on these proposals with the urgency required by the 2021 IPCC report.
The US will undoubtedly trigger a positive response throughout the world regarding more renewable energy and technology uptake, encouraging deeper emissions cuts and stricter regulations surrounding carbon emissions.
The innovations spurred by sustained renewable energy and technology investment will benefit the US economy as it transitions to the next century.
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