In his recent column (“Biden’s impossible dream: Any car you want as long as it’s an EV”), George Will criticizes the use of government regulation on tailpipe emissions to reduce the carbon pollution that is the main cause of climate change. He portrays electric vehicles, or EVs, as impractical and incapable of meeting our transportation needs.
Each year, we witness temperatures climbing and losses mounting. Here, in northwest Ohio, Lake Erie’s ice cover shrank to 4 percent in February, highlighting a 50-year trend of falling ice cover. The result is an overheated lake, faster growth of toxic algal blooms, and a decline of cold-water fish species. We cannot afford another 20 years of business-as-usual carbon pollution.
Mr. Will’s pessimistic take on EVs ignores the exceptional progress of the industry.
The cost of lithium-ion batteries for EVs dropped 90 percent from 2008 to 2022. Mr. Will cites high costs for repairing electronics in EVs but ignores the costs of fuel and overall maintenance where EVs shine. A study released this month by Vincentric found that half of EVs on the market have lower total cost of ownership than comparable gas-powered vehicles.
Scaling up EV market share and installing faster charging stations nationwide will require continuous innovation and large capital outlays. The same is true for the clean energy transition in other sectors, such as electricity generation, building heating and cooling, and agriculture. The transition must happen globally, but the United States must either lead or be left in the dust. Solar technology was invented in the United States, but China now makes 80 percent of all solar panels, a $158 billion market in 2022. To tackle this generational challenge, we need to take what is working, private investment, and accelerate it through responsible, bipartisan climate policy. To date, federal climate action has focused on regulation and tax credits. As Mr. Will notes, regulation is coercive and inefficient, while tax incentives cost the taxpayers money and lack transparency.
There is a better way: let the free market do its job. Put a fee on fossil fuel emissions and return the revenue to U.S. households, a policy known as carbon fee and dividend. The fee would create an incentive for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon emissions, because dumping 40 billion tons of CO2 into our atmosphere every year would no longer be free.
We need to harness the American can-do spirit of invention and entrepreneurship which has raised our standard of living beyond anything our ancestors could dream of. Let’s take up this challenge and pass on to our descendants a greener, safer, and more prosperous world.
BOB CLARK-PHELPS
The writer is a member of Citizens Climate Lobby
Perrysburg
First Published April 21, 2024, 4:00 a.m.
