December 20, 2021
Electric truck maker Rivian’s announcement last week that it is building a $ 5 billion facility in Georgia is the latest in a series of companies promising green jobs in the state.
But while Georgia has welcomed solar companies, a major battery maker, and now Rivian, the state is lagging behind policies that would help reduce the emissions that cause climate change.
That interruption isn’t uncommon, said Morgan Higman, an Energy Security and Climate Change program fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“In many ways, I think the governor and officials who worked to attract Rivian are not necessarily interested in electric vehicles because of their climate benefit,” she said. “You are interested in economic benefits.”
Switching to electric vehicles is key to combating climate change. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Proponents like Anne Blair, Senior EV Policy Manager with the Electrification Coalition, celebrate the new Rivian facility slated for Rutledge east of Atlanta.
“Electrics is the future and has a huge manufacturing center for the next wave of technology and, being in the automotive sector, it offers a lot of opportunity,” she said.
Georgia may be a great state to build electric vehicles, but it’s not the friendliest state to people looking to buy. Georgians will not be able to buy an electric truck directly from Rivian instead of through a dealer unless state lawmakers change the law to allow it. And several years ago, Georgia replaced its electric car tax credit with an annual fee to cover gasoline taxes that electric car drivers don’t pay.
Likewise, it is not the friendliest state for rooftop solar, although solar technology is manufactured here. And the state has no emission reduction targets.
A report Higman co-wrote for CSIS found that several states, including Georgia, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and Louisiana, are actively pursuing the economic opportunities of a low-carbon industry despite a lack of “climate ambition” or decarbonization plans.
In Georgia, the report found that “existing competitive advantages in the solar and battery sectors create business opportunities regardless of climate ambitions set at the country level”.
Still, the proposed Rivian Georgia facility could attract more people in the state to buy electric vehicles, said Dan Matisoff, a Georgia Tech economist.
“Having these things on the streets, having people working in the factories and talking to their friends about them, talking to their family about them, creates an induced demand,” he said.
Blair said this might be especially true because Rivian makes trucks and SUVs that are more popular than compact cars.
There is a certain chance that all of these new Georgia electric drivers would be calling for a change in its electric vehicle policy. But Higman and Matisoff said it wouldn’t be the end of the world if that doesn’t happen.
More electric vehicles on the streets means cleaner air on site, which Matisoff says is a good reason to promote it. But “most economists would agree that many of the incentives for electric vehicles may not be the most efficient way to reduce carbon dioxide,” he said.
According to Matisoff, measures such as the move by the Biden government to convert the federal government’s fleet – around 600,000 cars and trucks – to zero-emission vehicles are much more effective in reducing national and global emissions.
And the manufacture of electric vehicles, solar panels, and other green technologies in Georgia is still helping to cut emissions across the country. Without them, states like California and New York will have a hard time meeting their decarbonization goals.
“We’re going to need supply chains for these technologies too,” said Higman. “And in many cases, those resources are backed at least in part by states like Georgia and Louisiana and Wyoming, which we may not call climate leaders, but are nonetheless important as we move forward on decarbonization goals and creating a high-tech, low-carbon future . “
This story appears on Georgia Recorder through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a non-profit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories about climate solutions and a just future.
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