Mónica Araya
Says More…
This week in Say More, PS talks with Mónica Araya, Executive Director, International, at the European Climate Foundation.
Project Syndicate: In 2020, you wrote that, “Our long-term success at managing climate change will depend heavily on the energy and transportation strategies we adopt this decade, particularly over the next five years.” Nearly three years later, where have promising strategies been adopted, and are we nearing the point where “zero-emission electric vehicles outcompete polluting vehicles in the market”?
Mónica Araya: Important progress has been made in the last three years. In Europe, the Fit for 55 package – a set of initiatives that support the European Union’s goal of reducing net greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 – includes a deal to end the sale of new carbon-emitting vehicles by 2035. All new cars or vans placed on the market in the EU from that point should be electric.
China has created the world’s largest market for electric vehicles (EVs) in all segments, through ambitious supportive policies pursued at the national and subnational levels. India has strengthened incentives for electric buses and two- and three-wheelers. The United States has introduced new EV incentives for consumers, and EV credits for investors, as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).