Speaking at the New York Auto Show, Ghosn explains why we need EVs

We’ve heard it all before, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy listening to Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn explain why he’s still in favor of electric vehicles. Plus, if we’ve heard it a few times, imagine how many times he’s had to say it. It happened again this morning at the opening breakfast for the New York Auto Show, and it was as clear and concise an explanation as you can imagine.

When asked why people aren’t buying more electric vehicles, Ghosn said that there were a few factors working against EVs right now, but that, “I still think it’s just a temporary slow down.” He then listed the reasons why.

Ghosn started with the two-degree agreement that came out of COP21, the climate change conference in Paris last year. As the UN explained (PDF):

The goal of limiting global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of this century was first agreed to in Copenhagen and then by all countries at the Cancun Climate Conference in 2010. It recognizes that climate change is already occurring, but that if we act now, we can avoid the worst impacts of a changing climate.

So, with COP22, which will take place in Morocco this November, not that far away, it’s time to get busy. Transportation makes up 17 percent of all CO2 emissions, Ghosn said, and

“there is no way – no way – we’re going to reach anything around two degrees without the substantial reduction in CO2 from the transportation system. And the only obvious, known technology which allows that is electrification.”

Read more: Autoblog