Communities Most in Need of Clean Air May Benefit Least, Advocates Fear
A new report to be released Wednesday by The Greenlining Institute, the first ever to examine the impact of electric vehicles on communities of color, raises serious questions about whether EVs will have the needed impact on the communities most in need of clean air, within California and nationwide. Cost and lack of consumer education, the report argues, may blunt EVs’ impact in the communities that need them the most.
“Electric vehicles will do little to clean the air if the only people buying them are in Malibu and Marin,” said report author C.C. Song, green assets fellow at The Greenlining Institute. “We all want cleaner air and less use of fossil fuels, and electric vehicles and strong mileage standards can play a big part, but communities of color – 60 percent of California’s population – may miss out on the benefits of electric cars.”
