Public good and private gain in vehicle standards

An article in The Economist from February of 2019 explores some facts about big oil and climate change.

A crucial blnce

The balance that some business leaders believe must exist between private gain and public good

Polluting capitalism

may be in danger of disruption. The resulting pollution of capitalism may hasten the collapse due to failure to address inequalities.

 Yet amid the clamour is a single, jarring truth. Demand for oil is rising and the energy industry, in America and globally, is planning multi-trillion-dollar investments to satisfy it. No firm embodies this strategy better than ExxonMobil, the giant that rivals admire and green activists love to hate. As our briefing explains, it plans to pump 25% more oil and gas in 2025 than in 2017. If the rest of the industry pursues even modest growth, the consequence for the climate could be disastrous.ExxonMobil shows that the market cannot solve climate change by itself. Muscular government action is needed. Contrary to the fears of many Republicans (and hopes of some Democrats), that need not involve a bloated role for the state.1

 National Public Radio (NPR) has asked What's The Future For Gas-Powered Transportation? 

 Going electric is not just an eco-friendly goal, an ambition that would help fight climate change. It's a business reality, according to industry analysts. But if the general path ahead is widely agreed on, the speed of the change — and the role that combustion vehicles will play during the transition — is far from clear.2

 Merran Smith & Joanna Kyriazis offer an opinion in the National Observer that Canadians will save money and reduce GHG production if Canada maintains the agreement, designed by the Obama administration, and adopted by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to require auto manufacturers to produce more fuel efficient vehicles.

These standards don’t just cut pollution, they also keep money in the pockets of Canadians by making cars less expensive to fill up. While more fuel-efficient vehicles have a slightly higher sticker price, this can be recouped in a few years, beyond which drivers come out ahead. The International Council on Clean Transportation predicts that the average car built to comply with 2025 standards, for instance, will save about $383 per year on fuel. That same analysis finds that pickup trucks and SUVs built to 2025 standards would see an annual savings of $662. Trump’s rollback would lead to higher fuel bills with higher polluting, less efficient vehicles.
In a recent public opinion survey conducted by Pollara on behalf of Clean Energy Canada, two-thirds of Canadians were supportive of the current vehicle emission standards. They frequently cited cutting pollution, improving public health, improving vehicle efficiency, and spending less on gas as reasons for their support.3 

The local CBC Maritime Noon radio program investigated the economics for Maritimers to choose electric vehicles (EV’s) now.

 June 4, 2019: ... Phone-in on electric cars4

When manufacturing more efficient vehicles, either ICE or EV, produces real public good for Canadians’ fight against the climate emergency, we have to question unregulated private gain by large companies that increase GHG emissions.

References

1	(2019, February 9). The truth about big oil and climate change - The Economist. Retrieved February 18, 2019, from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/02/09/the-truth-about-big-oil-and-climate-change
2	(2019, February 16). As More Electric Cars Arrive, What's The Future For Gas-Powered .... Retrieved February 18, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/2019/02/16/694303169/as-more-electric-cars-arrive-whats-the-future-for-gas-powered-engines
3	(2019, May 21). High gas prices? There's a policy for that, and it helps combat climate .... Retrieved June 5, 2019, from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/05/21/opinion/high-gas-prices-theres-policy-and-it-helps-combat-climate-change
4	(n.d.). Maritime Noon with Bob Murphy | Live Radio | CBC Listen. Retrieved June 5, 2019, from https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-38-maritime-noon