This column is an opinion of Paris Marx, a writer of the generation living in St. Marx. John. For more information on the CBC Review section, see the FREQUENTLY Asked Questions.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an ambitious statement: Canada “will not only be a global player in electric vehicles, Array. . . we will be global leaders. ” Over the past year, the federal government has announced a series of agreements with automakers and suppliers to expand the domestic electric vehicle industry.
With gasoline costs topping $2 per liter for the first time in May and record temperatures in Atlantic Canada reminding us once again that global warming is warming rapidly, it is clear that we nevertheless want to reconsider our transportation system. Does the government put too much emphasis on electric cars to encourage more people to give up their cars altogether?
The U. S. Electric Vehicle Tax CreditU. S. U. S. could expand to include electric vehicles assembled in Canada
Electric cars tend to produce fewer emissions over their life cycle than equivalent cars running on fossil fuels, yet the framework used by government and industry that they are “zero emissions” is misleading.
Unlike a traditional vehicle whose emissions come from burning fossil fuels, a higher percentage of an EV’s emissions come from its production; more precisely, its battery. This is the aspect of EV that does not appear in advertising campaigns.
The International Energy Agency estimates that significant development in mining will be needed to drive an ecological transition that focuses on electric cars rather than opportunities such as public transport and cycling. for up to 2,100%.
These numbers sound smart to the mining industry, which hopes to use electric cars to make its operations greener, but they have serious human and environmental consequences on the supply chain.
The “lithium triangle” in South America is meant to be a major source of ore, but it is already polluting water and lowering the water table, threatening to generate new water for local communities.
Meanwhile, the site of much of the world’s cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing high rates of birth defects, infected water and an estimated 40,000 young people running in artisanal mines. In 2019, electric car maker Tesla, among several of the corporations named in a lawsuit over deaths of children in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But this does not end abroad. Part of the Prime Minister’s message to make Canada a world leader in electric cars is also about expanding mining. Lithium mines in Quebec have already been guilty of environmental damage and have been the subject of network opposition, while indigenous opposition is already mounting against Ring. of fire projects in Ontario. We are sure that we will see more as the provinces of this country look for mineral deposits to develop.
In 2019, shipping accounted for 25% of national emissions, oil and gas alone, and rose to 54% since 1990, in part because other people drove more and bought giant trucks and SUVs instead of sedans. Emissions from the shipping sector want to be addressed, but the challenge goes beyond tailpipe emissions.
According to Statistics Canada, 73. 7% of Canadians live in urban areas, but most are in the suburbs, in the city centre, and those suburbs continue to grow. another mobility bureaucracy.
A study published in January found that 83% of Canadians own or rent a vehicle, and 81% of car owners are unlikely not to, as many of our communities were built to deprive citizens of a reliable alternative. These suburbs’ communities also have higher car footprints than denser urban areas.
But car addiction isn’t just an environmental issue. In 2020, approximately 1745 people died in car collisions and 7868 suffered serious injuries. fitness effects.
In the most sensible, owning a car costs more than many people think. Before the pandemic, inflation and rising fuel prices, the Canadian Automobile Association estimated that the annual cost of owning a vehicle ranged from $8,600 to $13,000, depending on the model. . It’s actually superior now.
The climate crisis gives us an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent the way we move and build our communities, but the push for electric cars is about making the smallest upgrade imaginable, an upgrade that probably wouldn’t allow for the scale of the emissions discounts we need. . Addressing the magnitude of this challenge requires addressing the dominance of automobiles in our communities.
The government has a larger investment for public transport, but much of the money may not be delivered until 2026 and beyond. Meanwhile, subways in major cities want to expand to meet demand, municipal bus systems want an operating budget to offer more common and public services. Reliable service, and many Canadian cities lack good enough cycling infrastructure.
Similarly, the Liberals after all approved VIA Rail’s high-frequency rail plan between Toronto and Quebec City after a five-year delay, but even then, it may not come until the early 2030s. And this will still not fit the high-speed exercise that is being built in Asian and European countries. The ambition we want simply does not exist.
Electric cars will be part of the solution, but the more internal challenge is the number of Canadians who consider their cars to be a reliable alternative. Governments that take climate action seriously want to replace that.
Do you have a strong opinion that could simply provide input, shed light on a challenge in the news, or replace the way other people think about a challenge?We need to hear from you. That’s how we present ourselves.
Independent taxpayer
Paris Marx is a technology writer, host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast and Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation.
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