Data justice and climate resilience in the global automotive industry

Electric cars are often seen as a solution to reduce the carbon emissions from transportation, but they also pose new challenges for data justice and environmental sustainability. Two researchers from the University of Virginia are exploring these issues in a new project funded by the Environmental Institute.

Dr. MC Forelle and Dr. Jess Reia are interested in how the datafication of electric vehicles affects their material and regulatory aspects. Datafication refers to the process of collecting and processing data on various aspects of the vehicles, such as driver behavior, engine conditions, and the surrounding environment. This data can have benefits for improving safety, efficiency, and user experience, but it can also raise concerns about privacy, security, and ownership.

Moreover, datafication has hidden environmental impacts, as it requires the extraction of non-renewable resources, the use of energy-intensive data centers and supercomputers, and the creation of waste and pollution. These impacts are often overlooked or externalized by the automotive industry and the governments that regulate it.

The researchers aim to understand how the industry and the government are addressing these challenges, and how they are incorporating environmental and climate resilience issues into their data governance policies. They also want to bring in the perspectives of civil society groups and activists who are working on digital rights and climate justice, and who are often marginalized or ignored in these processes.

The project will involve a literature review, a data collection phase, a workshop, and a white paper report. The researchers hope to provide a holistic and critical analysis of the environmental and social implications of data-driven electric vehicles, and to offer policy recommendations that promote data justice and climate resilience.

The project contributes to the Institute’s priority areas of Decarbonization and Communities, as well as to the broader mission of advancing knowledge and action for a resilient and sustainable future.