GM Sustainability Chief Discusses Auto Maker’s Push to an All-Electric Lineup

General Motors Co. ’s plan to only sell electric vehicles by 2035 underscores how addressing climate change can create not just business opportunities, but a new set of challenges to work through as well.

Electric vehicles hold the promise of driving down greenhouse-gas emissions in transportation, which the United Nations says accounts for around a quarter of energy-related emissions. A 2022 study from the University of Michigan said that for sedans, SUVs and pickup trucks, battery-electric vehicles have about 64% lower greenhouse-gas emissions over their life cycle than internal-combustion-engine vehicles on average across the U.S.