Clean
Car Standards
Op-Ed:
Automakers Need To Support Clean Emissions Standards For Our Future. According
to an op-ed by Michael Brune in The Hill, “Maxwell, Peerless, Wayne, and White. Names that ring a bell? Not unless you are an antique car collector. They are all manufacturers that exhibited in 1906 at one of the earliest Washington Auto Shows. Like thousands
of other hopeful automakers in history, they did not survive. The future, it turns out, can be a very unforgiving place. Unfortunately, most of the automobile companies exhibiting at the annual Washington Auto Show this coming week seem determined to learn
that lesson the hard way. Innovation is a ubiquitous noun in the automotive industry, and people attending the Washington Auto Show are bound to hear executives say it more than once. But how can we trust the automakers to innovate for the future when their
own track records show the opposite? Just months ago, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, and still others retreated from the future when they sided with the Trump administration against clean cars. Revoking the California waiver to set its own greenhouse
gas emissions for vehicles, which have been adopted by 14 states and the District of Columbia, was quickly and rightfully criticized by the public. General Motors chief executive Mary Barra frequently extols her vision for a zero emissions future, but those
words will ring hollow until she and other automaker executives stand up for climate progress, public health, and last but not least, their own customers. Electric vehicles are orders of magnitude better for the environment, public health, and the climate.”
[The Hill, 1/23/20
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Trump
Ups Mileage Proposal Slightly Over Obama Standard. According
to the Associated Press, “The Trump administration is making a concession on its proposed minimum fuel economy requirement for new vehicles, but environmental groups and a key Democratic senator complain it does not go far enough, and still falls well below
the requirements set under the Obama administration. Fuel economy standards would increase 1.5% per year from 2021 through 2026 under the new proposal. That’s a reversal from the Trump administration’s proposal in 2018, which sought to freeze the standards
at 2020 levels. Environmentalists and Delaware Sen. Tom Carper hardly cheered the move, which doesn’t come close to the 5% annual increase that the Obama administration had mandated. Carper, senior Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, released
some details of the latest fuel-standards proposal in a letter Wednesday urging the administration to scrap its new mileage proposal as ineffective and costly. ‘My office’s review of the draft final rule indicates that it utterly fails to provide any demonstrable
safety, environmental or economic benefit to consumers or the country,’ Carper wrote in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget. The office reviews proposed regulations before they are finalized and printed in the Federal Register. The administration
hasn’t released the numbers, but they are detailed in Carper’s letter to Paul Ray, a management and budget administrator.” [Associated Press,
1/23/20
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EPA
Reasoning For Gutting Fuel-Economy Rule Doesn’t Hold Up, Senator Finds. According
to Ars Technica, “The Trump administration has for several years been working to weaken federal vehicle fuel-efficiency standards. To justify these changes, regulatory agencies argued that more stringent standards would both cost consumers more and reduce
road safety. A draft version of the new final rule, however, seems to directly contradict those lines of reasoning. The draft of the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule has not been released publicly, but Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) has seen
it. In a letter (PDF) to the White House, Carper says not only is the rule ‘replete with numerous questionable legal, procedural, and technical assertions,’ as well as ‘apparent typographical and other errors,’ but it also completely fails to provide the safety
or economic benefits initially claimed. The SAFE rule is part of a back-and-forth that hasn’t literally been going on since the dawn of time, but it kind of feels that way. The kerfuffle all began in 2012 when the Obama administration adopted a fuel-economy
standard that would gradually increase the average miles-per-gallon rating for most cars to 54.5mpg by 2025 (about 40mpg under real-world conditions). The Environmental Protection Agency finalized that standard in December 2016. Like many regulations either
finalized or enacted during the tail end of the Obama administration, though, the fuel-economy standard had a target on its back when the Trump administration began a month later.” [Ars Technica,
1/23/20
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Obama
Decries Trump For Rolling Back Global-Warming Fuel-Efficiency Standards.
According
to CKOM, “Efforts by the Trump administration to undo fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles are a setback to the battle against climate change, former U.S. president Barack Obama said on Thursday. Speaking at a sell-out forum about the future of work, Obama
said it’s clear not everyone is on his page when it comes to the enormous global challenge. ‘I instituted higher fuel-efficiency standards on cars, and the subsequent administration has now tried to actively reverse them,’ Obama said of President Donald Trump.
‘If we can’t even do that, where we’re going to say, ‘We’re not going to drive gas guzzlers’ when other countries don’t even have cars, then it’s going to be almost impossible to solve the problem.’ It will require a ‘surge of energy’ from citizens to put
pressure on large institutions to tackle greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate global warming, Obama said. It’s a cause, he said, that younger people increasingly understand and are willing to take on. ‘Which is why you have somebody like a Greta Thunberg
who gets so much traction,’ he said. ‘Because she speaks for a generation that is going to have to deal with this mess in a way that somebody like me, who’s 58, is not going to have to deal with it.’ Simply hectoring individual citizens or blaming developing
countries for not doing more to rein in harmful emissions, he said, won’t fix the problem. He described a situation in which a man has to drive 50 miles every day in an old pickup truck to his job so he can support his family. He can’t afford an electric or
hybrid vehicle and there’s no mass transit.” [CKOM, 1/23/20
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Green
Groups Criticize Automakers Over Support For 'More Carbon Pollution'. According
to The Hill, “A coalition of environmental groups are publicly calling on automakers to drop their support for the Trump administration’s move to prevent California from setting its own fuel efficiency standards. The five organizations took out an advertisement
in The Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press and The Sacramento Bee that reads: ‘Why are some automakers suing for more carbon pollution?’ It was followed by an open letter asking automakers General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Hyundai,
Kia and Mitsubishi to ‘immediately withdraw from litigation against existing clean car standards.’ The letter was signed by leaders of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, the League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club and the
Union of Concerned Scientists. ‘Your companies’ products together are responsible for a major share of climate pollution from transportation,’ the letter said. ‘Yet unlike other leading companies in the automotive sector and across other sectors, your companies
are attacking crucial clean air standards that are helping address climate change.’ The auto companies are siding with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California can set its own fuel economy standards. In October, the Coalition for Sustainable
Automotive Regulation, which is backed by several leading car manufacturers, filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Trump administration.” [The Hill,
1/23/20
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Carper
Says Trump Auto Rule Shows Higher Costs For Consumers. According
to Politico, “Sen. Tom Carper says he has obtained a final draft of the Trump administration’s auto rule that shows its weakening of greenhouse gas standards will increase costs to consumers while reducing the number of lives projected to be saved compared
to the proposed rule. In a letter to newly confirmed Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Paul Ray, Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, wrote that he obtained a copy of the final rule now under
review at the White House from a ‘non-governmental source.’ ‘My office’s review of the draft final rule indicates that it utterly fails to provide any demonstrable safety, environmental or economic benefit to consumers of the country,’ Carper wrote. ‘It should
be abandoned.’ EPA on Thursday referred questions to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which did not immediately return a request for comment. OMB also did not immediately return questions. Carper’s office declined to release a full copy
of the rule. The draft final rule requires annual fuel efficiency increases of 1.5 percent, which is more stringent than the total freeze proposed by the administration in 2018, as has been widely reported. That’s less than the 2.35 percent average annual
increase between model years 2005 and 2016, which Carper argued means that the new rule would ‘likely violate’ the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, ‘which requires the ‘maximum feasible’ fuel economy standard be set each year.’ Carper also said the administration’s
own figures show the final rule’s costs will outweigh its benefits.” [Politico,
1/23/20
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Carper
Presses Regs Czar To 'Abandon' Rollback. According
to E&E News, “Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is urging President Trump’s regulatory czar to abandon the rollback of clean car standards, as major environmental groups call on automakers to oppose the controversial proposal. Carper, the ranking member of the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a sharply worded letter today to Paul Ray, the newly confirmed head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The letter comes after EPA and the Department of Transportation sent the second
part of the rollback — formally known as the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule — to OIRA for standard interagency review last week (Greenwire, Jan. 15). ‘I write to convey my deep concerns with the draft final Part 2 of the Safer Affordable
Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule that was submitted to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Jan. 14,’ Carper wrote in his letter. ‘A copy of this document that was obtained by my office via a non-governmental source indicates
that what was submitted to OIRA by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would dramatically weaken future vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards, without providing the purported safety or economic benefits
that were touted by the Trump Administration,’ he wrote. ‘In short, the SAFE Vehicles rule, if finalized in its present form, will lead to vehicles that are neither safer, nor more affordable or fuel-efficient,’ he continued. ‘I urge you to require EPA and
DOT to abandon these efforts entirely.’” [E&E News, 1/23/20
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States
California
Moves To Regulate Climate Impact From Uber, Lyft. According
to Bloomberg Environment, “Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft emit 50% more greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile traveled in California than the average car, state regulators say, and so they are planning first-in-the-world rules to oversee this
growing part of the transportation sector. ‘This is a really groundbreaking regulation,’ California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said Thursday, adding it is ‘essential that we find ways to reduce emissions from vehicle transportation.’ The air
board regulations will focus on ways to reduce the number of trips drivers take without riders as they transit to pickup destinations, as well as promoting multiple riders taking the same car to different drop-off points. Accelerating the number of zero-emission
vehicles in a fleet will also be part of the strategy. Creating pickup hubs, partnering with transit agencies, and encouraging flexible pricing to promote carpooling are all on the table, said Gloria Pak from CARBs Advanced Clean Cars Regulations Section.
California has long struggled with poor air quality and climate pollutants, and the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the transportation sector. Without reducing emissions the state won’t meet air standards or climate goals. This is the
first time the air board has waded into regulating what’s known as transportation network companies (TNC) and the board is expected to have workshops on the plan this quarter, with a final rule scheduled for a vote at the end of the year.” [Bloomberg Environment,
1/23/20
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Auto
Manufacturers
Tesla
Overtakes Volkswagen As World's Second Most Valuable Carmaker. According
to Reuters, “Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has overtaken Germany’s Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) as the world’s second most valuable carmaker behind Japan’s Toyota (7203.T), as the meteoric rise in the U.S. electric vehicle maker’s shares reshuffles the global market. Tesla’s
stock has more than doubled in value in the last three months, with its market capitalization piercing $100 billion on Wednesday, a first for a listed U.S. automaker. During the rally, its value has leapfrogged more established global rivals: Honda (7267.T),
BMW (BMWG.DE), General Motors (GM.N) and Daimler (DAIGn.DE). On Wednesday, it eclipsed VW’s $99.4 billion value. Toyota still holds pole position with a market cap of $233 billion. The recent gains have been fueled by a surprise third-quarter profit, progress
at a new factory in China and better-than-expected car deliveries in the fourth quarter. Many investors remain skeptical that Tesla can consistently deliver profit, cash flow and growth. But the gains highlight growing confidence among investors about the
future of electric vehicles and Tesla’s shift from a niche car maker into a global leader in cleaner cars. A glance at its results shows it has a long way to go before it can eclipse larger rivals. Based on 12-month forward sales estimates, it doesn’t even
appear in the top 20 in the world. The company’s sales will reach $31 billion, a slither of Toyota’s $276 billion, VW’s $283 billion and Daimler’s $191 billion, according to Refinitiv data.” [Reuters,
1/23/20
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No,
Tesla Isn’t Bigger Than Volkswagen. According
to the Wall Street Journal, “In the market for cars, big is beautiful these days. In the market for car stocks, things are more complicated. Tesla’s market value raced past the $100 billion mark this week. While it’s still less than half of Toyota’s , it overtook
Volkswagen’s and reached twice that of U.S. market-share leader General Motors. VW is still bigger by enterprise value—a better measure of relative weight as it accounts for different capital structures—but whichever way it is calculated the valuation gap
relative to fundamental measures such as revenue is staggering. Some might conclude that investors are valuing scale less highly as electric vehicles replace conventional ones, largely for reasons of regulation in Europe and China. The reality is messier:
Scale will be both a benefit and a burden for incumbent auto makers in the industry’s technological transition. The inherent uncertainty is one reason investors are so reluctant to buy the stocks. VW will likely become the official global industry leader by
sales for 2019 when Toyota publishes its full-year sales and production next week. The two giants were neck and neck for most of last year, but VW pulled ahead in the final months, with growth of 12.5% in December deliveries compared with the same month in
2018. The company isn’t celebrating. Chief Executive Herbert Diess explicitly urged his executives to focus on profit rather than sales in a speech at VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters earlier this month. He praised the Mexican business, where the company culled
some unprofitable vehicles, sacrificing market share for the sake of narrower losses. VW’s late-year growth spurt was for all the wrong reasons.” [Wall Street Journal,
1/24/20
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Carmakers
Want Congress To See Their Electric Cars At Washington Auto Show. According
to The Detroit News, “Carmakers who are gathered in the nation’s capital for the Washington Auto Show are showing off their newest electric vehicles with an audience of 535 members of Congress in mind. The D.C. car confab, known primarily as a public policy
show, attracts an array of alternative fuel vehicles that would seem more likely to catch the eye of policymakers debating gas-mileage rules than SUV-crazy consumers. Ford Motor Co. used the audience of lawmakers and regulators to show off its new fully electric
2021 Mustang Mach-E, which is the Dearborn manufacturer’s first-ever battery-powered SUV. ‘It’s important for all the consumers to be able to see this important vehicle in person,’ Rhonda Belluso, a Ford East Region spokeswoman, said. ‘Post reveal, this is
the first time residents of D.C., Maryland and Virginia will be able to look at it first-hand.’ She believes there’s a market for the vehicle. ‘And as consumers get over things like range anxiety, which we’re trying to crush that myth by providing over 12,000
charging stations across the country and a 300-mile range on this Mustang Mach-E, we think that the demand will grow and we’re there to meet and try to build to the demand of the consumer.’ Automakers sold 236,067 electric vehicles in the first nine months
of 2019, the most recent figures available from the Electric Drive Transportation Association. That outpaces the 234,745 sold during the same period in the previous year. In all, 361,307 were sold in 2018. Advocates of electric vehicles have pleaded with Congress
to do more to support EVs, but with gas prices low and consumers opting for SUVs and pickups in large numbers, lawmakers have largely sat on their hands.” [The Detroit News,
1/23/20
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Volkswagen
CEO Confident He Can Catch Tesla In E-Car Race. According
to Bloomberg, “Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess is preparing to muscle Elon Musk out of the electric-car lead. While Tesla Inc. is paving the way in sustainable mobility, the world’s biggest automaker is buying software companies and ramping
up investments in electric vehicles and battery cells, Diess said Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ‘It’s an open race,’ Diess said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. ‘We are quite optimistic that we still can keep the pace with Tesla
and also at some stage probably overtake’ the U.S. carmaker. Tesla’s market value surpassed Volkswagen’s for the first time this week, even as the U.S. company sells a fraction of the cars VW churns out and has yet to record an annual profit. Volkswagen rose
as much as 1.7% in Frankfurt trading after Diess’s comments. Still, Tesla has a competitive edge in electric cars and software, technologies that are underpinning a shift toward cleaner mobility. The threat is underscored by Musk’s plan to establish a factory
near Berlin, in the heart of Germany’s automotive industry. While they’re competitors, Diess and Musk have cultivated somewhat friendly ties. The German CEO in October hailed Tesla as a serious competitor that’s pushing the industry toward sustainability --
just a few weeks after the South African-born billionaire tweeted that Diess is doing more than any big car CEO to go electric. Diess repeated his respect for Musk in Davos, saying Tesla’s product lineup ‘describes the future of the auto industry.’” [Bloomberg,
1/24/20
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Electric
Vehicles
Total
Expands Its EV-Charging Network In Big Oil’s Latest Foray Into Electric Vehicles.
According
to Electrek, “Total, the French multinational oil giant, announced yesterday that it will install and operate up to 20,000 new public EV charging points in the Netherlands. The company is aligned with Shell and BP in making big investments in electric-car
charging infrastructure. A multi-government collaboration, dubbed Metropolitan Region Amsterdam Electric, awarded the contract to Total. The concession is reportedly Europe’s largest EV charging contract. It will cover three provinces — North Holland, Flevoland,
and Utrecht — an area that serves 3.2 million residents. Total Netherlands is already the leading EV charging operator in the MRA-Electric region, with over 4 500 public charging points. The company has developed significant expertise and capability in managing
an EV charging network. As part of the contract, the electricity supplied by Total Netherlands to the EV charging network will be 100% sourced from renewable power, such as solar and wind. In an official statement, Alexis Vovk, president for marketing and
Services at Total, said: For Total, providing the Dutch EV drivers with such reliable charging infrastructure and services, powered by clean and renewable electricity, is a significant and unprecedented step toward sustainable mobility. It is in line with
our ambition to operate 150,000 charging points in Europe by 2025 and to become a major player in the electric mobility business.” [Electrek,
1/23/20
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Citing
Leaked Draft, Carper Details Host Of Flaws In Auto GHG Rollback. According
to Inside EPA, “Even as the Trump administration’s draft final rule rolling back Obama-era vehicle greenhouse gas standards officially remains under wraps during White House review, a top Senate Democrat is disclosing several key aspects of a leaked draft
that he says undermine several of the administration’s stated rationales for the policy. Specifically, a Jan. 22 letter to the White House from Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the ranking Democrat on the Senate environment committee, alleges that several parts of
the draft show the plan will result in cars with higher emissions, increased net costs to drivers and no ‘appreciable’ safety benefits. The senator says he obtained a copy of the draft final rule ‘via a non-governmental source,’ summarizing what he views as
its major shortcomings. He then urges Paul Ray, the newly confirmed chief of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), to require EPA and the Transportation Department (DOT) to ‘abandon these efforts entirely,’ or at a minimum develop ‘wholesale
revisions’ to the rule to fix major problems. Carper does not disclose the date of the draft final rule he has viewed, and it is unclear if the plan has subsequently undergone significant changes amid OIRA’s review. He adds that the documents he received consist
only of DOT’s rule preamble, including ‘placeholders’ for analysis and narrative sections that ‘have seemingly not yet been written.’” [Inside EPA,
1/23/20
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SAB
Poised To Issue Final Critique Of EPA’s Auto GHG Rule Rollback. According
to Inside EPA, “EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) is poised to finalize, with some modifications, its sharp critique of numerous modeling assumptions the agency made in crafting its rollback of Obama-era vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy regulations.
SAB members during a Jan. 22 conference call signaled they would issue their analysis of the auto rule to EPA -- albeit with the possibility of dissents on at least some issues -- whether or not the rule is complete by the time board members finish drafting
a final SAB report. ‘Whether or not they issue the rule before this comes out does not seem to be a critical factor’ in SAB’s decision, said Syracuse University’s Peter Wilcoxen, chairman of the SAB workgroup that developed draft recommendations. ‘I think
it is more important for us as a board to say, in some sense bear witness to, the fact that the agency’s proposed rule was very poorly done in some respects,’ he added -- even if the agency has since revised its analysis. ‘I think we should still go ahead
with it.’ SAB Chairman Michael Honeycutt similarly said, ‘I am thinking along the same lines as Pete here,’ citing the value of SAB’s analysis for ‘future rulemakings’ and the fact that it satisfies the board’s statutory requirements to ‘take a look at a major
rule like this.’ SAB’s critique is advancing despite prior statements by EPA chief Andrew Wheeler that the board’s advice would have little effect on the final rule that EPA is working to issue jointly with the Department of Transportation (DOT) over the next
month or so, with Wheeler playing up differences between the proposed rule and final version.” [Inside EPA,
1/23/20
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EV
Alliance Launches As DOE Boosts Funding. According
to E&E News, “2019 was a disappointing year for electric vehicle advocates in the United States, but two important developments yesterday offered a dose of optimism for 2020. EV sales nationwide dropped 6.8% last year, from 349,000 to 325,000, according to
figures released earlier this week. The drop was notable, analysts said, because it occurred despite a dramatic rise in Tesla Model 3 sales. Also last year, Congress failed to deliver on a key priority for EV advocates: extending the federal EV tax credit.
Democrats agreed to leave the tax credit out of a year-end spending bill following loud objections from the White House. But two announcements yesterday signaled a rosier outlook for the pace of domestic EV adoption this year. First, a new alliance formed
to promote electric vehicles in corporate fleets. It includes big names like Amazon.com Inc. and Ikea, signaling that corporate America is invested in the transition away from traditional gas-powered cars. Second, the Department of Energy announced new funding
for clean vehicles at the Washington Auto Show, where automakers like Ford Motor Co. unveiled new all-electric models. The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance launched yesterday with help from Ceres, a nonprofit that works with businesses and investors to
promote sustainability. The alliance is ‘a collaborative group of companies focused on accelerating the transition to electric vehicles,’ according to its website. ‘It supports companies in making and achieving bold commitments to fleet electrification,’ the
site says. ‘The Alliance also loosely aggregates corporate demand for EVs to expand the business case for production of a more diverse array of EV models.’” [E&E News,
1/24/20
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Old
Electric Car Batteries May Help Cut Costs Of Storing Power. According
to Bloomberg, “As major players jostle for market share in large-scale power storage, American Electric Power and Nissan Motor Co. are testing new technology that re-uses old electric vehicle batteries to slash costs. The pilot study in Ohio will road test
technology that could lower system costs by about a half and extend the life of lithium-ion batteries by about a third, according to its Australian developer. Costs of energy storage systems are falling globally on technology improvements, larger manufacturing
volumes, increased competition between suppliers and as the sector adds more expertise, BloombergNEF said in an October report. That’s driving an expansion in investment in projects to store power, with as much as $5 billion worth of deals possible this year
for systems paired with renewable energy, according to the forecaster. American Electric’s Ohio study is using expired Nissan Leaf car batteries and is intended to test the innovations at scale after laboratory work in Australia and Japan. Results so far appear
promising, Ram Sastry, American Electric’s vice president, innovation and technology, said by phone. ‘It’s in a facility that we own, but connected to the real grid.’ he said. The technology is developed by Melbourne-based Relectrify and uses old, or second-life,
vehicle batteries and reduces the number of components needed, the company said Friday in a statement. That can reduce costs for key parts of typical industrial or grid storage systems to about $150 per kilowatt hour, it said.” [Bloomberg,
1/23/20
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When
Rubber Hits The Road, Electric Vehicles Looking Good To Car Owners, AAA Says.
According
to the Denver Post, “Electric vehicles are becoming more economically competitive with their gas-fueled counterparts and people are feeling less ‘range anxiety’ about how far they can get on a charge, according to new research by AAA. Driving a compact electric
vehicle over five years and 75,000 miles will cost a person only slightly more — about $600 annually — than a gas-powered vehicle, according to the report released Wednesday. The study also showed that concerns about running out of power on a trip ease significantly
once a person buys an electric car. ‘While 40 million Americans have signaled an interest in buying electric for their next car, the actual adoption of these technologies is happening much, much more slowly,’ AAA Colorado spokesman Skyler McKinley said in
a statement. ‘With this research, we’ve begun to explore what the experience of owning an electric vehicle has on perception of these cars and, perhaps more importantly, whether consumers would choose to go green again.’ The push to get more electric vehicles
on the roads is growing in Colorado as a way to help cut the pollution that has kept Denver and other Front Range communities from meeting federal air-quality standards. In December, the Environmental Protection Agency downgraded the area to being in ‘serious’
violation of federal standards, which brings stricter controls on polluters. Gov. Jared Polis has made increasing the use of electric vehicles a priority, signing an executive order in January 2019 directing state agencies to pursue policies and actions to
work toward that goal.” [Denver Post, 1/23/20
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Opinion
Pieces
Analysis: Clean Living: These Are The 12 ‘Greenest’ Cars For 2020.
According to Jim Gorzelany in Forbes, “The most environmentally friendly vehicles in dealers’ showrooms for the 2020 model year are once again electrified rides. Only this time around,
more gas/electric hybrid-powered cars made the annual list of Greener Cars issued by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). This is due in large part, the Council explains, to improvements made to internal combustion engines that enable
them to run cleaner and get better gas mileage, along with stricter tailpipe emissions standards and improvements in the production and distribution of gasoline. ‘Some level of vehicle electrification is the clear path forward for both cars and light trucks,
and for the foreseeable future, that will include everything from mild hybrids to all-electric vehicles,’ says Eric Junga, senior transportation research analyst at ACEEE. ‘Gasoline hybrids are hitting seriously impressive fuel economy numbers and are available
in nearly every vehicle category.’ The ACEEE’s ratings go beyond simply assessing tailpipe emissions – if they were restricted to that measure all of the top-ranked models would be full electric. Rather, they take into consideration the ‘cradle to grave’ impact
a given model will have on the environment. This includes manufacturing disposal impact, a model’s energy source, emissions from manufacturing, the impact of disposal and recycling, and emissions associated with electricity production. Each vehicle is given
an overall Green Score that can be used to compare the relative environmental friendliness – or unfriendliness as the case may be – from one model to another.” [Forbes,
1/23/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119