Biden’s plan to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector emphasizes remote employment and virtual contacts.
The plan, which was unveiled in January by the departments of Energy, Transportation, and Housing under President Joe Biden, intends to “eliminate nearly all greenhouse gas emissions” from the transportation industry by the year 2050, primarily through a switch to electric vehicles. However, the controversial recommendation to enhance remote work and online activities, such as schooling, is also a part of the plan.
“Telework and other components of a digital economy can improve convenience by reducing travel demand, especially for work commuting. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted major opportunities for telework, with some studies showing the possibility of 10 percent long-term reduction in annual vehicle miles traveled.”
The strategy continues by identifying one of the major factors influencing future travel demand as remote access to services like health care and education.
Leading green energy organizations, who have advocated for reduced travel demand since the beginning of the pandemic, will no doubt be pleased with the administration’s COVID-inspired appeal. For instance, the Rocky Mountain Institute highlighted telework alternatives to cut down on vehicle miles traveled in April 2020.
Advocates for small companies, however, are already expressing their fury at the idea, citing the fact that more than 100,000 of them had to permanently close their doors in just the first few months of the pandemic as owners faced with the decline in demand. Alfredo Ortiz, president of Job Creators Network, believes that if widespread telework were to be introduced in the name of combating climate change, that history would be repeated.
“Once again, the Biden administration is blindly pursuing a ‘green’ agenda despite the unintended consequences it poses to the economy and, more specifically, small businesses. Small businesses struggled to survive the pandemic and we don’t need to return to a similar environment in which in-person consumer demand is severely compromised,” Ortiz stated.
