The European Union has recently seen a significant transformation in the market for electric vehicles. Nearly 1,325,000 electric car registrations in 2020 has been reported which is an 11% increase in registration from 2019. Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, indicated that there are still hurdles for people who looks for switching to electric cars in a California China Climate Institute discussion. This week, listen to Tubiana about policies to boost this transformation. For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/how-policy-change-boosts-electric-vehicle-transformation-in-europe-with-laurence-tubiana-california-china-climate-institute/
For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/how-policy-change-boosts-electric-vehicle-transformation-in-europe-with-laurence-tubiana-california-china-climate-institute/
Tubiana: No gas project will enter in the new portfolio of the European Investment Bank, which is of course a very big lender in Europe. These types of very strong moves are important to understand.
Ethan: That’s Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and a key architect of the 2015 Paris climate accord. She spoke with former California Governor Jerry Brown during a California China Climate Institute discussion about electric vehicles in Europe. She says higher prices are one of the biggest hurdles for those looking to buy an electric vehicle over a gas one.
Tubiana: People cannot necessarily switch from having a highly polluting car to a cleaner one. That perspective of the new solidarity fund that has been decided together with this extension of the carbon pricing, the economy in Europe, is to try to in a way compensate people who cannot switch to an electric car easily because they are still too expensive for them. To have to compensate them for the tax they are paying; the economic signal exists, but of course it doesn't have a regressive effect on the more modest household.
Ethan: To learn more about Tubiana and policies to boost electric vehicles, visit climatebreak.org or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Ethan Elkind and this was Climate Break.