At the Washington, D.C. Auto Show this month, we heard Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) equate the current electric vehicle (EV) transition with the seatbelt revolution of the 1960s. At first, people were hesitant to wear a seatbelt. Now, everyone knows that seatbelts save lives, and I can't imagine a world where I'd feel safe getting in my car without buckling my seatbelt first. Dingell said EVs are the next frontier of saving lives. I agree.
Our climate is at a tipping point. 2023 was the hottest year on record, and climate scientists are expressing concern that we may be closer than we thought to passing the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise above pre-industrial levels that is considered to be a dangerous tipping-point for climate change.
The transportation industry is the single-largest U.S. source of greenhouse gas emissions, which means that auto companies have both a moral opportunity and a responsibility to help reduce air pollution and protect the health of our communities by transitioning to clean, all-electric vehicles. The current climate crisis requires that we find solutions to eliminate carbon emissions as fast as possible.
This spring, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will release new clean car standards that would require 67 percent of cars sold in the U.S. to be all-electric by 2032—a figure that is far less ambitious than, for example, General Motors' (GM) own pledge to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035. It is also seemingly on track with Ford's public goal for 40 percent to 50 percent of its global vehicle volume to be fully electric by 2030. Yet the automotive association representing GM and Ford, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), outright opposes this safeguard that would protect human health and God's Creation, and is actively lobbying against it.
As two of the top-selling American automakers, GM and Ford have the power to push the U.S. auto industry toward electrification, as they've promised. Instead, GM and Ford, as members of the AAI, are fueling the climate crisis by blocking progress on the transition from gas-guzzling vehicles to electric vehicles and endangering the health of our families and communities in the process.
During Public Policy Day at the D.C. Auto Show, many of the speakers expressed hesitation around a quick transition to electric vehicles, citing a lack of consumer demand. But by all counts, consumer demand is at an all-time high. In 2023, four in 10 Americans said they were ready to go electric, and sales reached 1.2 million vehicles for the first time ever. And consumer demand goes beyond an interest in new technology. Many faith communities have released statements expressing concern about the impact of climate change and the need to care for all of Creation, and electrification is one essential solution. For example, Interfaith Power & Light has seen an increase in the numbers of congregations advocating for and using electric vehicles in our Cool Congregations Challenge program's Electric Vehicle Leaders category at the same time as more and more congregations are installing solar to power their places of worship.
GM and Ford have scaled back EV commitments, adding to our concern. GM has pushed its production timelines and even paused production of its best-selling Bolt EV in 2023. At the end of 2023, Ford reduced the production capacity at a new EV plant in Michigan by more than 40 percent and leaned into gas-powered hybrid models. Just this month, Ford also announced production cuts to its popular all-electric F-150 Lightning.
Along with many of my peer environmental leaders, I am imploring GM and Ford to break from their lobbying organization and express clear support for the EPA's ambitious and necessary clean cars standards. The transition to all-electric vehicles is critical for a cleaner, greener future that protects human health and our Sacred Earth. We cannot afford to delay.
Rev. Susan Hendershot is the President of Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit organization focused on mobilizing people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Religious Leaders Urge Faith in Electric Cars
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01.02.2024
At the Washington, D.C. Auto Show this month, we heard Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) equate the current electric vehicle (EV) transition with the seatbelt revolution of the 1960s. At first, people were hesitant to wear a seatbelt. Now, everyone knows that seatbelts save lives, and I can't imagine a world where I'd feel safe getting in my car without buckling my seatbelt first. Dingell said EVs are the next frontier of saving lives. I agree.
Our climate is at a tipping point. 2023 was the hottest year on record, and climate scientists are expressing concern that we may be closer than we thought to passing the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise above pre-industrial levels that is considered to be a dangerous tipping-point for climate change.
The transportation industry is the single-largest U.S. source of greenhouse gas emissions, which means that auto companies have both a moral opportunity and a responsibility to help reduce air pollution and protect the health of our communities by transitioning to clean, all-electric vehicles. The current climate crisis requires that we find solutions to........
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