UCLA’s Julia Stein comments in Bloomberg Law regarding electric vehicle infrastructure and environmental justice concerns
March 17, 2021Julia Stein (project director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the UCLA School of Law) was quoted in a Bloomberg Law story about President Joe Biden’s vow to create massive electric vehicle infrastructure nationwide. Advocates are examining the need for the electrification revolution to make ample space for fence line communities most affected by vehicle pollution.
If the infrastructure only caters predominately to people who currently can afford to drive EVs, the effort will only widen historical gaps, Stein said. She also commented on how looking only at “demand-based” models of where most current EV users are living could result in infrastructure planning in predominately higher-income areas.
In all, advocates are calling for electric vehicle infrastructure that’s affordable, accessible and integrated responsibly in order to include low-income rural and urban communities who stand to benefit from the plummeting emission rates.