Then again, maybe this won’t work perfectly: a Survey from Cox Automotive found that most US consumers would consider switching to an EV or hybrid if gas prices reached $6 a gallon.
But this is the second major event of fossil-fuel instability in the past five years, which could make consumers more ready to switch, said Ellen Buckberg, a senior fellow at Harvard. Told Bloomberg. (The first time was in the summer of 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.)
I’m a climate and energy reporter and I care about tackling climate change. So I’m always glad to hear that people are turning to EVs or some other option that helps cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
But one aspect I think is being missed here is that continued high fossil-fuel prices will also be bad for those of us not tied to the burden of vehicle ownership. Fuel costs make up between 50% to 60% cost of shipping goods overseas. Today fertilizer production requires natural gas, which has become quite expensive since the war began, especially in Europe.
Jet fuel prices have basically doubled in the last month, According to the International Air Transport Association. Since these prices amount to a quarter of an airline’s operating costs, air travel – and anything shipped by plane – may soon become more expensive.
And if all this leads to an economic recession, that’s bad for big projects that need financing (even wind and solar farms) and for people who want to borrow money to buy a home or car (including EVs).
If you’re in the market for a car, perhaps this uncertainty is just what you need to consider going electric. But until we are able to truly decarbonize not only our transportation but the rest of our economy, even this careless reporter will continue to worry about high gas prices.
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