Electric vehicles are better than traditional cars not just for the environment, but for your health. Canada's National Observer reported that Canadian experts reinforced the health benefits of an EV mandate, which requires hybrids and EVs to comprise 20% of car sales by 2026 and 100% by 2035.
Eliminating cars fueled by dirty energy will save money and lives, according to the experts. Canada's National Observer noted that The Atmospheric Fund, a climate change and air pollution nonprofit, has argued the policy will prevent $90 billion in spending and 11,000 premature deaths over the next 25 years in Canada.
"While the EV availability standard has been communicated from the beginning as a climate policy, we think it's equally, if not more compelling as a health policy," Bryan Purcell, The Atmospheric Fund's vice president for policy and programs, said, per the report.
Unlike EVs, traditional vehicles produce tailpipe emissions, which contain harmful chemicals. In the report, Health Canada warned that exposure to these chemicals through traffic-related air pollution contributes to the development and worsening of asthma in children, lung cancer in adults, and premature deaths, among other health problems.
Asthma alone results in nearly 300 deaths and 80,000 emergency room visits annually, according to Asthma Canada, via the report. The organization estimates the disease, which affects more vulnerable populations like children, seniors, and communities located near pollution centers, will cost the country $4.2 billion by 2033.
However, policies like Canada's EV mandate can curb traffic-related air pollution and the health issues associated with it. While the mandate faces resistance from the automotive industry, Purcell likened it to regulating seatbelts in cars. He explained the industry argued seatbelts were consumers' choices, but the government decided "there was a role for public policy to protect the public interest and public safety and we really see this regulation very similarly."
In the United States, policies promoting EVs have also faced opposition, and tax credits for the vehicles expire at the end of September. However, switching to an EV can still save you up to $1,500 on gas and maintenance, as well as protect yourself and your community from tailpipe pollution.
"When you look at these kind of numbers of avoided deaths that can be achieved and other health benefits, I think it could purely justify the policy on health grounds, even if we didn't have a climate crisis on our hands," Purcell said about the Canadian mandate, per Canada's National Observer.
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