It’s been a long road to get here, folks. Constant criticism, a strongly worded letter from the Environmental Protection Agency, a presidential pleaand a lawsuit from 16 states was all the agency needed to stop buying new gas-powered vans.
Let’s take a look at the USPS’ plan to transition to EVs and see what it took to get here. And as a year-end treat, I’ve also rounded up some of my favorite Tech Review climate coverage of the year. Let’s get into it.
The obvious choice
As of 2020, transportation was the largest driver of climate change in the US, accounting for 27% of greenhouse gas emissions. And the US federal government manages the largest fleet in the world on 650,000 vehicles, of which the USPS accounts for about a third.
Joe Biden has made the federal fleet one of the targets of his electric car plans, setting a goal for all new federal vehicles purchased after 2035 to be electric, with light vehicles reaching that goal by 2027.
But the USPS is marching on another drummer. Even as the Biden administration touted plans to electrify and reduce emissions, the USPS seemed to be chasing plans to purchase more fossil fuel vehicles. Last year, when the agency first announced a contract to replace trucks, only 10% would be EVs.