With the threat of climate change looming in Virginia’s coast and interior, it’s fitting that the Commonwealth is the leading southern state in reducing carbon emissions.
In addition to the need to contain the dangers of extreme weather on a regular basis, climate action is one economic necessity, one fiscal conservatives should embrace: Virginia’s coastal real estate alone will incur $6 billion in climate damage – each year – from uncontrolled emissions. And Virginians agree they need to take action: Climate change is the second biggest concern among independent voters.
But instead of finding common cause in tackling a challenge that both endangers and unites Virginians, Governor Glenn Youngkin (right) only attacks climate progress, while he himself offers no solutions.
Youngkin’s latest destructive salvo is his call to repeal a key climate law: Virginia’s Clean Cars initiative. That 18-state approach is simple: It reduces emissions by gradually shifting states from more expensive, polluting cars powered by expensive petroleum, to cleaner cars powered by cheaper electricity (electric vehicles, or EVs).
Youngkin’s anti-climate allies have supported his attack, with nearly 10 repeal bills introduced during the legislative session underway in Richmond. Youngkin himself even personally thwarted Virginia’s First EV Plant — Fordsno less – from settling in rural Virginia, even as each neighboring state has already put up two EV plants apiece, one of which will be the largest auto plant in U.S. history.
Youngkin’s antagonism is just plain wrong: not just the Clean Cars law itself popular, Youngkin is deliberately ignoring the realities of the global auto market, not to mention the massive economic and health improvements the law will bring to Virginians. As such, his attack will fail.
First, the Clean Cars law is Virginia’s most critical climate action to date: Exhaust pipes are Virginia’s largest carbon polluter. And under the federal Clean Air Act, Clean Cars is the only tool the Commonwealth can use to exercise its sovereign prerogative to address its largest source of air pollution.
Clean Cars is also practical. In addition to being Virginia’s only vehicle pollution reduction tool allowed to states by federal law, it taps into a massive, irreversible shift underway in the international auto market.
Automakers are locked into one global technology arms race, to capture market share of what will soon be the only city car game: electric. That race to go all-electric is a looming technological tipping point, similar to the move from landlines to smartphones a generation ago.
Major automakers are proof that the EV tipping point is here: in the next two years, 1 in 3 car models will be fully electric. And in a little over a decade, most automakers — be it Chevy, Volvo, Audi, Buick — will be all-electric. You read that right: by 2035 or sooner, GM and many, many others will have completely ceased production of even a single gas-powered vehicle.
The Clean Cars Act ensures Virginians benefit from this tectonic market shift sooner, not later. That will be a boon for families: EVs – bought second-hand or new – free drivers from pain at the pump. Filling the tank with electricity causes a shock (and joy) from the reverse sticker: It costs only a third of what filling up with gasoline costs today.
And even without the $7,500 federal rebate for eligible EVs, by 2028 the on-the-lot, upfront sticker price of new EVs will likely be the same as gas-powered cars. From then on, any car buyer would be financially suicidal to drive a gas-powered vehicle out of the parking lot.
Yet none of these fundamental facts matter to Youngkin. His presidential ambitions dictate that a cynical, “say no” climate nihilism serves its own political interests, rather than seeking solutions that benefit its actual constituents – everyday Virginians.
But facts matter in Richmond, especially for legislators at the wheel of responsible governance.
Accordingly, Virginians can rest assured that, despite Youngkin’s negating attacks on Virginia’s climate laws, the Commonwealth will continue to push for a cleaner, cheaper, and safer future.
Through Walton Shepherd
This opinion piece was originally published in the Virginian pilot.
Thanks to NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
Do you appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and coverage of cleantech news? Consider getting one CleanTechnica member, supporter, technician or ambassador – or a patron on cartridge.
Don’t miss a cleantech story? Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on google news!
Do you have a tip for CleanTechnica, do you want to advertise or do you want to introduce a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.