It’s a good week for the electric car industry in the U.S. and U.K. – but don’t buy into its optimism

The electric car industry is having a pretty good week. Yesterday it was announced that Tesla and Uber have teamed up with a number of other electric car manufacturers to form a lobbying group. Its aims are ambitious: it wants zero emissions cars to account for 100% of car sales by 2030.

In the U.K., meanwhile, the group’s goal is now government policy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed that he is bringing forward a ban on petrol and diesel cars by a decade. This is a part of his “green industrial revolution” that aims to make the U.K. carbon neutral by 2050.

The Zero Emission Transport Association

The lobby group is called the Zero Emission Transport Association.(Get used to seeing the ZETA acronym). Alongside the likes of Uber and Tesla are other smaller challengers in the space, such as Lucid, as well as many other organizations that play an important part in the electric car manufacturing supply chain. In total there are 28 companies in the group.

However, as The Verge notes, there are no representatives from established “legacy” manufacturers. The report highlights that these companies typically try to have their cake and eat it. They push for government investment and support for infrastructure, while also fighting against targets to reduce emissions.

Joe Britton, ZETA’s Executive Director, said:

“For the first time in a generation, transportation is the leading emitter of U.S. carbon emissions. By embracing EVs, federal policymakers can help drive innovation, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and improve air quality and public health.”

With the new President likely to welcome green initiatives far more readily than Donald Trump, it’s certainly a good time for ZETA to launch. However, while it might be encouraging for many of us worried about the deterioration of the climate, its important to be mindful that these organizations are ultimately seeking growth. Giving them the power to drive a key element in the fight against climate change could have dangerous consequences.

Read more stories about tech policy.

Boris Johnson gives the industry a further boost

The same note of caution is important when looking at Boris Johnson’s announcement in the U.K. For context, it comes exactly a year since a number of leading scientists and climate advisers criticised the Conservatives’ record on climate change. Indeed, the language of Johnson’s plan isn’t a million miles away from the Labour Party’s ‘Green New Deal’, launched as part of its agenda for the 2019 general election. The only difference being that the Labour Party of 2019 was cast as a socialist bogeyman, while Johnson will be presented as a commonsense liberal.

The focus on electric vehicles is perhaps telling about Johnson’s political orientation. While it appears progressive, ultimately it is built on the assumption that legislation is best used to provide incentives for the market. True, this may have some impact, but it certainly won’t be enough.

The electric car revolution: scepticism is encouraged

While this is a good week for the electric car industry, it’s important we don’t buy into its bullshit optimism. It doesn’t want a better life for you – it wants growth and profits. Politicians like Boris Johnson qill acquiesce with this lukewarm progressivism, but it is important to question it. There are surely other ways we can tackle the climate crisis faster and more democratically.