Biden and Democrats look to 'Cash for Clunkers'-style program to boost electric vehicles
by Josh Siegel, Energy and Environment Reporter |
| July 23, 2020 12:00 AM
Democrats eyeing full control of the government in 2021 are rallying around the idea of providing consumers rebates to swap old gas guzzlers with zero-emission vehicles, seeking to improve upon the Obama "Cash for Clunkers" program.
In recent weeks, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, along with a special climate change committee created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has endorsed a plan by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to take more than 63 million gas vehicles off the road over a decade, replacing them with cleaner ones.
Democrats argue that it’s insufficient to just increase demand for zero-emission vehicles through measures such as tax credits, regulatory requirements, or restrictions on how much vehicles can pollute. Transportation emits more carbon than any other economic sector in the United States. Electric vehicles only accounted for about 3% of new sales globally last year, as consumers have been slow to pay for the higher upfront cost, along with being skeptical about the range of the vehicles and a lack of charging stations.
“Each new vehicle being purchased today will still be on the road in the 2030s,†Alison Cassady, the deputy staff director for Democrats on the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, told the Washington Examiner. “So if we want to dramatically reduce greenhouse gases from passenger vehicles by 2050, we need to quicken the turnover of gasoline-powered vehicles."
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/biden-and-democrats-look-to-cash-for-clunkers-style-program-to-boost-electric-vehicles