Achieving ‘rebate equity,’ along with emissions reductions, requires the political establishment to rethink electric vehicle subsidy design,” says Nunes.Īs many American consumers seek to reduce their environmental impact, sales of electric vehicles have surged over the past few years, fueled in part by federal subsidies of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new EV.īut Nunes’ study suggests that foregoing gasoline in favor of volts may actually increase, not lower, overall emissions in some cases. “Our study shows that electric vehicle subsidies disadvantage poor households in the U.S., who tend to be the purchasers of used cars and are largely responsible for delivering an EV’s emissions benefits. Nunes says that is because many buyers of new EVs - usually more affluent households - don’t use them as their primary vehicle nor keep them for very long, making miles driven by the car’s subsequent owners necessary to attaining an overall reduction in emissions. Subsidies offered by the federal government for the purchase of new electric vehicles (EVs) may actually increase total greenhouse gas emissions without similar aid for secondhand buyers, concludes a new study led by Ashley Nunes, Ph.D., a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program.
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