Washington, D.C. — Despite falling short of the goal of 1 million electric vehicles by 2015, promoting the growing trend in the United States toward emissions-reducing hybrid and electric vehicles, or EVs, remains an important and audacious goal, according to a column released today by the Center for American Progress.
When he took office, President Barack Obama set a goal of having 1 million EVs and plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015. Even though that goal has not yet been reached, it has set the United States on a path toward greater technological advancement and outlined the barriers in public policy that need to be overcome in order to make this goal a reality.
“It is clearer now than ever before that electric vehicles are a crucial part of the future for the U.S. fleet, and every year we get closer and closer to that reality,” said Myriam Alexander-Kearns, CAP Research Associate and author of the paper. “There are still technological and public policy barriers standing in the way, however. If we are going to break the entrenched gasoline-powered automobile, we are going to need partnerships between government and the will to move beyond the technology of the last century.”
The column points to private-public partnerships such as the Everywhere Grand Challenge Initiative between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Edison Electric Institute that is accelerating EV technology development and infrastructure deployment. The column argues that in order to meet these ambitious goals, policymakers must work across state boundaries.
Click here to read the column “Achieving the President’s Goals for Increased Next-Generation Vehicle Use” By Myriam Alexander-Kearns
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.