FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Report from Coltura Finds Achieving Climate Goals Depend on the Rapid Conversion of Gasoline Superusers to Electric Vehicles
Federal and state electric vehicle policy and incentives must target the biggest gasoline consumers to achieve carbon emissions goals.
Seattle, WA – July 20, 2021 – New research finds that converting the biggest users of gasoline to EVs in the next ten years is critical to reaching President Biden’s climate goals and that present EV policies are poorly suited to shifting them. Published today, the report, “Gasoline Superusers,” provides the first in-depth look at the data available on drivers in the top 10% of gasoline consumption, so-called “gasoline superusers.” It analyzes EV incentives and other policy options for transitioning superusers to EVs and presents a model for achieving significant cuts in gasoline consumption by 2030.
“This is the first published study identifying the demographic characteristics of gasoline superusers and calling for EV incentive programs and other policies to focus on maximizing gasoline displacement. Getting gasoline superusers into EVs as quickly as possible is critical to hitting our climate goals because they consume a third of U.S. gasoline,” said Matthew Metz, the lead author of the report and founder and co-executive director of Coltura, a nonprofit working to accelerate the transition from gasoline to cleaner alternatives.
“The current flat EV incentives are being used primarily by higher-income drivers who tend not to use much gasoline,” added Janelle London, co-author of the report. “The people who use the most gasoline are more evenly spread across the income spectrum, and many lower-income gasoline superusers spend upwards of 20% of their household income on gasoline. It’s more equitable as well as more efficient to give these drivers the biggest incentives to switch to EVs.”
Top “Gasoline Superuser” Report Findings:
The findings of this report, modeled in part from data published in the most recent National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), are instrumental for policymakers to design incentive programs and other policies that maximize reductions in gasoline use and address infrastructure requirements to meet the needs of gasoline superusers.
The full report is available at https://www.coltura.org/gasoline-superusers.
About Coltura
Coltura is working to improve climate, health, and equity by accelerating the transition from gasoline and diesel to cleaner alternatives. It focuses on changing gasoline supply, gasoline demand, and gasoline culture through innovative legal and policy pathways, media, and art. It is leading an effort to put states on a path to requiring vehicles of model year 2030 to be EVs. Learn more at www.coltura.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Samara Villasenor, communications for Coltura, samara@coltura.com, 425-255-0890