Environment Texas praises Houston electric vehicle goal

By 2030, 30% of new car sales in the city will be electric

Environment Texas Research and Policy Center

HOUSTON — The city of Houston and corporate partners announced today a roadmap to increase electric vehicle sales to 30% of all new car sales by 2030. The plan will aim to increase awareness about, affordability of, and the availability of electric transportation in Houston over the next decade.

“Today, affordable, efficient, long-range electric vehicles are hitting the streets in record numbers, and better vehicles are coming online all the time,” said Jen Schmerling, deputy director of Environment Texas. “However, to meet our commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement and get to zero-carbon transportation by mid-century, we need to do more. “EVolve will incentivize cleaner driving and more environmentally-friendly habits in individual citizens and small businesses and lead to more public support for a fully-decarbonized society.”

EVolve Houston, a collaboration between the City of Houston, Centerpoint Energy, the University of Houston, NRG, Shell, and LDR, is working to reduce Houston’s transportation-related carbon emissions by encouraging sales of new electric vehicles. 

“Nearly half of the greenhouse gas emissions in Houston come from transportation. Shifting to zero emission forms of transportation is a key strategy to help us meet our ambitious climate goals and improve our regional air quality,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. This program aligns with the goals of Houston’s new Climate Action Plan, which calls for both electrified and multi-modal transportation options.

This program is the first of its kind in Texas, and one of the first in the nation.

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