Lyft announced new climate goals for the Lyft platform as we do our part to ensure the United States remains on track to meet the goals of the Paris accord. To guide them in these efforts, we are proud to welcome pioneering environmentalist and author Paul Hawken, Executive Director of Project Drawdown, as an advisor to Lyft. Paul will inform our climate action strategy and help us maximize the environmental benefits of our platform as we take this important step for sustainability.
Lyft Climate Impact Goals
* All electric autonomous vehicles operating on the Lyft platform will be powered by 100% renewable energy. This will be true from Day 1, starting with the nuTonomy autonomous vehicles in Boston later this year.
* By 2025, Lyft’s shared platform will provide at least 1 billion rides per year using electric autonomous vehicles.
* Lyft’s efforts will reduce CO2 emissions for the U.S. transportation sector as a whole by at least 5 million tons per year by 2025.
They believe that ridesharing, combined with autonomous vehicles, will be the driving force that brings electric vehicles from a tiny portion (~0.1%) of all cars on the road today to a significant majority within 20 years. This belief is supported by leading think-tanks and research laboratories.
The average car is used only 4% of the time and for electric vehicles, it takes 10 years or more to recover the cost premium through fuel savings. In comparison, Lyft vehicles can be used much more efficiently – an electric, autonomous Lyft vehicle will be utilized over 50% of the time and payback its costs in just a few years through operational savings. These savings will dramatically accelerate the rollout of electric vehicles, displacing millions of gasoline-powered cars and helping the U.S. and world reach their climate goals.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.