The U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation announced Gabe Klein, former head of the Washington D.C. Department of Transportation, will take the helm of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
Klein, who also served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, will head up the Joint Office and its efforts to support the federal government’s vehicle electrification efforts and deploy $7.5 billion to build out an EV charging network accessible to all Americans. The Joint Office was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide technical assistance, analysis, and support to states and local governments in modernizing the country’s transportation system and allowing Americans to choose electric vehicles.
“We look forward to working with Gabe to help deliver on President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the American people and ensure that every community—from the largest cities to the most rural areas—can reap the benefits of the electric vehicle revolution,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The offices said traditionally underserved communities often lack adequate EV charging infrastructure and investments. The Joint Office will provide states, cities, and local communities with the technical assistance and analytical support they need to develop EV charging plans, which will, in turn, ease the clean energy transition for underserved communities and create good-paying jobs that will accelerate the growth of the clean energy workforce.
“I will seize the opportunity to steward a critical shift in our transportation economy from fossil fuels to clean, electric energy systems, as there has never been a more important mission in our recent history than solving the climate crisis,” said Gabe Klein, Executive Director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. “Our task to bring together private and public investments to support the deployment of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers nationwide is a major step toward President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investment in American Jobs and equitable access to affordable transportation while creating good-paying jobs for Americans.”
Klein said that under his leadership, the Joint Office will support implementing investments into zero-emission passenger, transit, and heavy-duty vehicles that back the Biden Administration’s goal of delivering 40 percent of the benefits from federal climate and clean energy investments to underserved communities.