Uber Green to launch in more than 30 Canadian cities amid sustainability push

Source: The Canadian Press · GLOBAL NEWS· | September 8, 2020

Uber Technologies Inc. says the current state of transportation is “unsustainable” when it comes to carbon emissions.

Uber Technologies Inc. is launching a handful of sustainability measures in Canada in an effort to reach lofty goals it has set for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing giant said Tuesday that it will encourage the use of electric and hybrid vehicles by offering rewards and savings for riders and earnings for drivers who use them and allocating $800 million in resources to the cause.

The company said its new and targeted approach to sustainability will help it reach two goals it has set: getting 100 per cent of rides in Canada, the U.S. and Europe completed on battery EVs by 2030 and ensuring all trips on the platform globally are emission-free by 2040.

Uber’s commitments come as the ride-hailing business has slumped in several markets during the COVID-19 pandemic, but global attention around climate change has not dissipated.

“We want to take this opportunity to do more, to do better and to do our part to drive the green recovery in our cities,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, in a media briefing Tuesday.

“Uber has a clear responsibility to reduce our environmental impact and today we are committing to … tackle the climate crisis more aggressively than ever before.”

When two-thirds of the world’s population was under lockdown in early April, carbon emissions fell 17 per compared with last year, but by June, the drop was only five per cent, Khosrowshahi said.

“Carbon emissions will return to normal soon,” he warned.

Canada has committed to eliminating 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gases by 2030 under the Paris climate change agreement. Studies have showed that COVID-19 measures have so far pushed the country’s emissions down 20 per cent.