Southern Company a founding member of new electric vehicle advocacy coalition
Southern Company is a founding member the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a new organization advocating for national policies that will enable 100% electric vehicle sales throughout the light-, medium-, and heavy-duty sectors by 2030.
With a goal for 100% of all vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, ZETA has a clear mission for transportation electrification.
ZETA is backed by a coalition of 27 founding member organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of workers across all 50 states. The first industry coalition of its kind, ZETA brings together those who support meeting the goal of 100% electric vehicle sales by 2030. This diverse, non-partisan group coordinates public education efforts and federal policy development to promote EV adoption with the goal of creating American electric vehicle manufacturing jobs, better serving consumers, improving air quality and public health, and significantly reducing carbon pollution.
“We are excited to see ZETA launch and are proud to be a founding member of this group,” said Lincoln Wood, electrification policy manager at Southern Company. “It has been a culmination of a several months of work to bring different stakeholders together to collaborate on thoughtful public policy at the federal level that will support greater adoption of EVs, which are so important to our company, our customers, the environment and our communities.”
“For the first time in a generation, transportation is the leading emitter of U.S. carbon emissions. By embracing EVs, federal policymakers can help drive innovation, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and improve air quality and public health,” said Joe Britton, executive director of ZETA. “ZETA’s formation recognizes a pivotal moment for national leadership and reflects the will of the growing clean transportation sector.”
Specifically, ZETA is calling for five key policy pillars that can, in aggregate, put America on the pathway to full EV adoption by 2030:
1. Outcome-driven consumer EV incentives.
Point-of-sale consumer incentives drive adoption, provide cost reductions and achieve real results in pushing transportation electrification. In addition, incentivizing early retirements while encouraging EV adoption will speed the transition and meet the urgency of the moment.
2. Emissions/performance standards enabling full electrification by 2030.
Emission targets are a key piece of protecting public health and sending the correct market signals to support and accelerate the transition to zero emission transportation.
3. Infrastructure investments.
Strong federal charging infrastructure investments will drive the electric transportation transition and ensure that the United States is leading the way in a clean recovery where everyone is better off.
4. Domestic manufacturing.
We should not only accelerate U.S. transportation electrification, but also work to ensure that we secure domestic economic growth and leadership in EV manufacturing. Federal policies must encourage job creation and economic activity across the entire EV supply chain and lifecycle, from critical materials to vehicles.
5. Federal leadership and cooperation with sub-national entities.
Federal support should invest in research and development, provide an aligned vision for electrification, and ensure local leaders are empowered with the expertise and resources to support full vehicle electrification.
Being a founding member of ZETA is another part of Southern Company’s larger focus on electrification of the transportation industry and commitment to sustainability and clean energy. Along with our system-wide goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, earlier this year Southern Company announced an internal fleet electrification goal where the company plans to convert 50 percent of our electric companies’ fleet vehicles in the auto/SUV/minivan, forklift and ATV/cart/miscellaneous equipment segments to electric by 2030.
