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I think what frustrates many is that they are having something forced on them (be it better or not - let's leave that out of it for this point). They look around and see others (be they countries or individuals) who are not going to be beholden to the same standards. China, India, Mexico and great swaths of Eastern Europe have no way (nor intention) of adhering to the same rigorous emission standards the rest of the developed world is implementing or soon will; despite the fact that they are some of the largest contributors.
And just recently, there was some data released on how much emissions certain celebrities are responsible for with their frequent private jet usage; we are talking the equivalent of hundreds of people's emissions for daily-driven modern ICE cars attributed to a single person's demand for fast and convenient travel. Yet these are the same people telling everyone else they are the ones that need to sacrifice and change their lifestyle. I lump many people in this forum in the same category that are wealthy enough to own a host of inefficient, high-performance ICE cars and belittle others because they show any hesitance to switching to EVs. When you can afford a couple fun ICE cars that remain parked and are only driven on the track or weekends while you daily an EV, it's easy to look at the future with optimism. For those of us who can only afford one car, it's a tougher pill to swallow.
The companies that make all of these vehicles, while many are starting to move towards more energy efficient and emission-minded manufacturing processes, are of a similar mind - but to add insult to injury, they are the ones that stand to gain from everyone ditching ICE and adopting EVs.
Personal transportation is low hanging fruit because it is the most visible, and can enrich corporations the most. What about tractor trailer semi trucks? Shipping barges? Airplanes? Where is the call to arms for heavy industry to clean up their act? It's nowhere - and that's because the optics are not favorable and those opportunities are not lucrative enough.
My prediction: through GREAT investments and suffering by tax payers and the middle class, we will get close to EV adoption targets. And there will be a near negligible improvement to climate change and emissions. Those who are polluting will continue to do so and the corporations will continue to profit, laughing on their way to the bank. But everyone will be able to say "at least we tried" - which will be worth little in the end.
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