Climate Week NYC: Mercedes Benz Sustainable Mobility Dialogue

At MAC Global Partners we find, support and grow opportunities to address the climate challenge, and Climate Week brought together the usual discussions about how to continue the momentum. One important topic was the future of sustainable mobility. At the Mercedes Benz Dialogue, there was focus on two valuable lessons in electric mobility: companies’ role in spearheading technology adoption and the importance of strong partnerships among private and public entities.
Incentives are needed to support early adoption of new and thereby inherently risky technologies. Consumers prioritize convenience, and many are reluctant to change existing habits. There is a need for education around what these new technologies (if EVs can still be called new) can and cannot do along with the value and advancement they bring. It is not a stretch to say that once drivers adopt EVs, they rarely look back. After initial adoption, charging and auto companies must continue to differentiate themselves in order to stay competitive, and are doing so by innovating features to attract drivers.
Charging is complex and drives the interconnection of states, sectors and government agencies that often bring to the equation different agenda and timelines. The importance of public-private partnerships is critical and demonstrated in the journey to electrify heavy-duty vehicles, the fastest-growing segment of transportation emissions. This is laid out in the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy, focused on deploying zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure from 2024 to 2040, and Ceres’ Corporate EV Alliance, promoting collaboration between regulators and utilities to decarbonize heavy-duty vehicles.
With the advancement of electric mobility, requirements for disclosure, and initiatives to localize critical minerals, this past June, Volvo launched the world’s first EV passport, documenting the origins of raw materials, recycled content and carbon footprint, with Circulor. EV battery passports will be mandatory in the EU by 2027. This must be examined through the lens of economic growth, tech innovation, transparency, and energy security.