General Motors said Thursday it plans to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global operations and hopes to offer only zero-emissions vehicles by 2035. The largest US automaker, GM had previously announced that it was working towards an “all electric future,” but it had not set any target date for achieving that goal.
GM plans to cut emissions by transitioning to battery-powered electric vehicles or other zero-emissions technologies. This move will require an investment of $27 billion, up from the $20 billion announced before the pandemic.
The automaker will work with the Environmental Defense Fund to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035. However a blog post from CEO Mary Barra referred to this timeline as an “aspiration” rather than a deadline or hard promise.
This announcement comes after President Biden signed a flurry of executive orders this week aimed at tackling the climate crisis, including rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office.
To help curb the company’s own emissions, GM said it will source 100% renewable energy to power its U.S. plants by 2030 and global sites by 2035 — 5 years earlier than previously announced. The company also joined 300 global companies by signing a pledge to reach a net-zero carbon emission target.
“For General Motors, our most significant carbon impact comes from tailpipe emissions of the vehicles that we sell — in our case, it’s 75%. That is why it is so important that we accelerate toward a future in which every vehicle we sell is a zero-emissions vehicle,” said Barra…