Canada is uniquely well positioned to promote Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) transportation

One of the biggest sources of emissions for Canada is the transportation sector, which produced 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Half of that amount was emitted by passenger cars and light trucks.

Canada is uniquely well positioned to promote Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) transportation. Compared to a global average of 20%, we in Canada generate over two thirds of our electricity from renewable sources such as hydro and wind. Some provinces generate nearly all their electricity from such renewable sources.

As the only G8 country which produces two-thirds of its electricity from renewable resources, Canada can take a lead role in accepting NEVs as an important solution to pressing environmental issues. Taking such a lead role can begin by finding a way to accept NEVs in urban environments.

Experts are seriously concerned about the rapidly increasing demand for private vehicles in burgeoning econimies such as China and India. These same experts agree that even if this increasing demand for vehicles was met with internal combustion engine microcars, the resulting emissions would be unmanageable. We have an opportunity to grow an industry of electrically powered micro cars that could show the world how to manage a growing part of the environmental threats from the transportation sector. Allowing NEVs on urban streets would be an important leadership step for Canada to take.

NEVs produce no pollutants at the point of use.

There are currently two Canadian companies manufacturing NEVs for sale in Canada and/or the USA. These are:

- CANADIAN ELECTRIC VEHICLES LTD from British Columbia that produces a NEV truck.

- NEMO which manufactures a NEV truck from a plant in Quebec.

The 40+ NEV's registered in British Columbia since 2000 have not been involved in any reported accident.

Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), a division of Chrysler, which has sold over 30,000 NEVs in the Uniited States, has not reported a single traffic-related death in their vehicles in over 10 years of service in mixed use and controlled environments.

Similar vehicles in Europe now exceed 300,000 and about 30,000 are added each year. Public accident reports in France show that NEVs are safer in terms of injuries than public transportation.

As of December 2010, 43 US States as well as the District of Columbia allow NEVs to be used on roads not exceeding 40 km/h. Thirteen states require NEV's to be electric.

Two states - Washington and Montana allow NEV's to travel at speeds up to 55 km/h.

NEV's are used widely throughout the USA in urban/city mixed traffic/environment.