The following statement was issued by Sierra Club on July 7, 2011. The EV support statement was signed by over 180 organizations. Support (or personalize) President Obama's pledge to get one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
We, the undersigned businesses, municipalities, and public interest groups from across the nation, support a strong national electric vehicle advancement program that will increase American jobs, decrease pollution, and reduce our dependence on oil.
Oil Independence
Gasoline prices are unstable and rising. Electric vehicles enable drivers to fill up on stable, domestic electricity at a cost equivalent to approximately 75 cents per gallon. Our nation sends up to a third of a trillion dollars overseas each year to purchase foreign oil, often produced by countries that are unstable or unfriendly to American interests. Foreign oil purchases are also responsible for about 50% of the US trade deficit. As Americans struggle to cope with rising and volatile gasoline prices, vehicle innovation provides real options. Greater independence from oil means an economically stronger and more secure America.
Job Growth
Strong public and private investment in US electric vehicle, component, and battery manufacturing as well as in EV-related infrastructure has been successful in jumpstarting job growth and transforming the US competitive position in the global advanced battery industry. More than 20 different electric drive vehicles will be on the market within the next three years from virtually every major and several new car manufacturers – with electric vehicles and components being built in at least 20 states. Because battery and electric drive technology is also essential to traditional hybrid cars and trucks, advances made for EVs drive forward the whole advanced vehicle industry. Additionally, people are finding new jobs and creating and expanding businesses that install charging stations and new infrastructure that connect vehicles to the electric grid.
Environmental and Public Health Protection
Today, the transportation sector is a significant cause of both global warming pollution and local smog and asthma related pollutants, and car and truck innovation is critical to pollution reduction. Electric vehicles have little or no tailpipe pollution, and when compared to nearly all conventional vehicles on the road today, they are responsible for lower overall emissions of CO2 and many harmful pollutants, even when power plant emissions are factored in. Where utilities provide or individuals choose cleaner power options, EVs can be much cleaner immediately, and with responsible policies and technologies to increasingly clean up our electric sector, all EVs become cleaner over time – ultimately becoming true zero emissions vehicles. EVs provide an important opportunity to address local air quality and climate change.
Across the nation –independently and through federal initiatives—municipalities, businesses, and public interest organizations are already committing local resources to capture these benefits in our communities. But working individually, none of our communities can adopt these technologies on the scale necessary to drive the innovation and cost reductions necessary to make the US a leader in this emerging field. We need a robust national program, in conjunction with local and state programs, that will:
1. Expand national, regional, and local efforts that help attract greater concentrations of electric vehicles in communities across the country. The program should balance assistance to communities ready to test new EV regulatory and business models with nationwide support for cities and states that take serious steps to prepare for EV deployment, including appropriate utility planning and policy.
2. Remove unnecessary bureaucratic and market obstacles to vehicle electrification nationwide through a variety of policies that: bolster nationwide installation of and access to basic charging infrastructure, both at people’s homes and in public places; incentivize the purchase of electric vehicles and EV charging equipment and streamline the permitting application process for EV charging equipment; educate the public about the benefits of EVs and the costs, opportunities, and logistical considerations involved with EV charging infrastructure; ensure appropriate training for workers installing EV charging equipment and for first responders; encourage utilities to provide attractive rates and programs for EV owners and increase off-peak charging; assist in deployment of clean energy, efficiency, and energy management technologies jointly with vehicle charging; and accelerate advanced battery cost reduction by boosting EV use in fleets, in second use, and in stationary applications.
3. Ensure US leadership in manufacturing of electric drive vehicles, batteries and components. Extend support for innovation, commercialization, and manufacture of advanced light and heavy duty electric vehicles and components. Enhance research and development as well as loans and other incentives that leverage and attract private investment in technology development and advanced manufacturing in this sector.
It is critical to act now to capture the energy security, emissions reduction, jobs, and economic leadership benefits of electric vehicles.
Toyota 
