GM 'Aspires' to Carbon Neutrality by 2040

Jamie L. LaReau reports:

General Motors "aspires" to have all of its global new light-duty vehicles, including full-size pickups and SUVs, be zero emission by 2035. It also targets 2040 for its global products and plants to be carbon neutral.

LaReau included the scare quotes because the announcement by GM on Thursday stops short of committing to the ambitious goal. LaReau quotes Dane Parker, GM's chief sustainability officer, elbaroting on the word choice: " 'Aspire' is a great word because it helps us work toward our vision," said Parker. "We're taking action to have our vehicles be zero emissions by 2035. This is going to take the effort of a lot of people and a lot of governments to get there. So we have a vision, we have a plan and we're taking action today to get there."

A lot more details and reaction to the announcement are included in LaReau's coverage.

Another article by Andrew J. Hawkins digs into the big announcement, including a detectable amount of snark into the coverage. The lede of the story reads as follows: "General Motors, an automotive company that sells hundreds of thousands of giant gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs every year, says it will be carbon neutral by 2040."

Both articles note that GM announced in November a plan to invest $27 billion to release 30 new electric vehicles to the market by 2025.