Low-Carbon Transportation Means More than Electric Vehicles Alone

Many local governments are accelerating efforts to increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs) to meet ambitious climate goals, but EVs alone will not reduce transportation emissions enough to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. EVs are not necessarily zero emission, and many people do not use automobiles as their primary mode of transportation. In urban environments particularly, people of color, those with low incomes, and younger residents are more likely than others to rely on transit and active forms of travel such as walking and biking. Local policymakers should accommodate and encourage these methods of transportation to lower emissions in a more equitable way.