Sunrise Movement: Biden's Electric Vehicle Goal is Not a Win

Today, following President Biden's announcement of setting a goal of 50% electric vehicles by 2030, Varshini Prakash, Executive Director of Sunrise Movement, released the following statement:

"Let's be clear, Biden's electric vehicle goal is not a win. It's a half measure. While we're glad the Biden Administration has worked collaboratively to bring aboard unions like the United Autoworkers to this effort, we can't be fooled that 50% EVs by 2030 is an ambitious target - it's half the target major corporations like Uber and Lyft have called for. Biden isn't leading the transition to zero emissions when he's lagging behind corporate America and the 11 other countries who have set targets to achieve 100% zero emissions vehicle sales by or before 2030.

"Biden cannot think of himself as the climate President with a 50% electric vehicles goal. FDR didn't set a goal to half win the war, and JFK didn't set a goal to get halfway to the moon. If we are still selling gas cars in 2030, they'll be on the road for another 10, 15, 20 years - long after his presidency and well into our already unstable futures. Biden must read the science - and the science says we need 100% of all new car sales to be electric vehicles by no later than 2030."

This comes after Biden already allowed Republicans to cut the funding for his ambitious campaign promise of deploying 500,000 electric vehicle chargers in half -- from $15 billion to $7.5 billion, as well as reducing funding for zero emissions buses and more. The Biden administration and Democratic leaders have yet to indicate whether they will continue to push forward bold goals for electrifying transit through the budget reconciliation process.