The political climate has changed. What does that mean for EV adoption?

BY JOHN HIGHAM: LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION, ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER

Many electric vehicle (EV) advocates with whom I’ve spoken since the November election are borderline giddy about the shifting landscape. I’m a bit more pragmatic—the political headwinds have subsided, but that isn’t the same thing as a tail wind. Nevertheless, it is definitely time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

There is a story about Johann Sebastian Bach’s experience when giving an organ recital. He sat down at the keyboard and began to play, but no sound emerged from the pipes. In Bach’s day, there were no electromechanical fans to pressurize the air that flowed out of the pipes when keys became struck. Creating the pressure was the work of teams of men who worked a mechanical bellows pump. It was a difficult task, and the folks in the pit wanted some credit. As the story goes, after that day Bach always gave credit to the laborers who worked in the background as the maestro played. 

The story of Bach being figuratively voiceless without the bellows pumpers has everything to do with how policy is made. Legislators get the credit, but all the work is behind the scenes. Legislators may be the face and voice of a new law or policy, but their staff members, outside consultants, or even lobbyists do all the research and writing. 

And what’s the most important factor of all? Nothing happens without public support. Even more than the staff members, the consultants, and lobbyists, there must be participation from the legislator’s constituency. That’s where EV advocates are not just crucial, but vital and indispensable; your elected leaders must hear from you to be moved into action.

The importance of the EAA

The mission of the Electric Auto Association (EAA) is to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles through education, infrastructure support and demonstration. The EAA’s 2021 policy agenda includes the following:

• Modify Section 30D of the IRS code to remove the 200k car per manufacturer limit

• Support policy that encourages owners and managers of multifamily communities multi-unit residencies (MURs) to install EV charging infrastructure

• Support policy that encourages businesses to provide charging infrastructure for its employees

• Support policy that makes it an infraction to occupy a spot that is intended for EV charging with any vehicle that is not charging.

• Support carbon fees/dividends or broader national cap and trade carbon system.

Policy can have a tremendous effect on EV adoption. If we are to be successful in accelerating the adoption of EVs, now is the time to roll up our sleeves and work those bellows, so to speak. Take a moment to write to your legislators and tell them what you are passionate about. This includes state level representatives as well as federal level. Here’s where you can find them: 

• State level

• US House of Representatives 

• US Senate

You can also connect via many smartphone apps such as Countable. Contacting your elected officials is only a few clicks away.

If your elected officials are uncommitted about EVs, Bob Erdman of EAA’s Greater Washington DC chapter helped pull together a fact sheet and white paper that is a perfect segue for reticent lawmakers. In fact, here’s a blog post about a recent EAA seminar where Bob and other EVADC members gave great pointers on this topicwere featured as speakers.

So what does this new climate mean for EV adoption? It means that great progress can be made, but that we all have to get to work to make it happen.