"I recently joined a small webinar of American transportation professionals who were invited to discuss strategies to decarbonize transportation. One of the participants, an executive at a global car company, declared that there was only one realistic path forward: Electrify cars as quickly as possible, whatever it takes. Trying to reduce driving, he said, is a fool’s errand; Americans are simply unwilling to do it.
To put it charitably, I found his argument unconvincing. Modern Americans have not shown themselves committed to driving; urban sprawl and scant transit service have left them no viable alternative. Road pricing, such as NYC’s paused congestion pricing plan, could have a dramatic effect reducing driving, particularly if proceeds are used to improve transit and biking (let’s hope so, because researchers have shown that in the absence of mode shift from cars, even the most optimistic electrification projections cannot prevent a two-degree increase in global temperatures)."
