Electric cars more promising for ‘cutting emissions and US oil imports’

A new research revealed that electric cars hold greater promise of reducing emissions and lowering US oil imports than a national renewable portfolio standard.

Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy has found 'the single most effective way to reduce US oil demand, and foreign imports, would be an aggressive campaign to launch electric vehicles into the automotive fleet'.

Mandating that 30% of all vehicles be electric by 2050 would both reduce US oil use by 2.5 million barrels a day and cut emissions by 7% compared to the national renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which would cut them only by 4% over the same time.

The analysis indicated that "business-as-usual market-related trends might propel the United States towards greater oil and natural gas self-sufficiency over the next 20 years".

On the other hand, implementing carbon caps and pricing or a high carbon tax could lead to a significant increase in US reliance on oil imports between now and 2025, and would also increase US dependence on imports of foreign liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2025.

Under a business-as-usual approach, the United States won't have to import any LNG for decades, and the growth of the use of natural gas will help the environment by lowering the demand for coal.