Good day my good friend.

You will probably see that today’s Extra looks slightly different. That’s because it is. For the next few weeks, I am going to trial the Extra newsletter in a new format. You will still get a deep dive, but with some extra content you won’t get in the daily newsletter. Let me know what you think of it.

Electric vehicles will play a role in our low carbon future

One thing that frustrates me about many sustainable travel advocates is their utter dislike for electric vehicles. I’ve heard the arguements before. It all depends on the electricity grid as to whether its green or not.1 It doesn’t solve traffic. There are still emissions from particulates. And its not as good as getting people walking, cycling, and using public transport.

All to which I say, well…yes but that ignores why we should support them. No matter how hard we try, the car is here to stay, and there will be trips whereby vehicles will always be needed. Parked EVs can also serve as electricity storage, providing a flexibility that is critical to help decarbonise the energy grid. As well as reducing tail-pipe emissions from vehicles which makes a small, but important reduction in emissions.

If you want evidence as to why this needs doing, how about the Committee on Climate Change, who conclude that the link to air quality is clear, and EVs will create green jobs. Or how about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who conclude that electric vehicles powered by low-emissions electricity “offer the largest decarbonisation potential for land-based transport, on a life cycle basis.”

Electric vehicles need to be a core part of any transport policy going forward. We don’t just need to de-carbonise trips. We need to de-carbonise everything. And electric vehicles are a big, big part of that. To deny that because you prefer the alternative is short sighted, and does not follow the evidence of the types of interventions that are needed. So don’t do cycling or electric vehicles. Do both.

Graph of the week

With COP27 happening this week, Our World In Data has updated its CO2 Data Explorer Tool. And its great, as no matter how you cut the data, consumption per capita is going the right way for many places.

Something interesting

We often forget about coaches. Which is a shame, as they are a super-cheap, super-efficient way of travelling. Here is the experience of getting from London to Paris for £29.