The Uncomfortable Truths of Public EV Charging

In this Energy Policy Seminar, Elaine Buckberg, Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the former Chief Economist of General Motors, will give a talk entitled "The Uncomfortable Truths of Public EV Charging." Buckberg will explore the realities of charging electric vehicles in public, from empirical work on highway charging data, to how much time it takes to charge in cities without a home charger. Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: RSVP required. A Harvard University ID is required for in-person attendance; all are welcome to attend via Zoom.

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on the Belfer Center's YouTube channel.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Co-sponsors: Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

About the Speaker

Elaine Buckberg is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, former Chief Economist of General Motors, and a former senior U.S. Treasury official. She has served as an advisor to top leadership across government, corporate, and finance, using economics to inform real-world decisions and improve outcomes.

At Salata, Elaine leads research and stakeholder engagement to drive better public EV charging outcomes. She also covers industrial policy, supply chains, and geoeconomics and teaches an undergraduate seminar on EVs. Her experience spans macro, micro, and financial economics, U.S. and international, with a deep focus on China and Latin America.

As Chief Economist for General Motors, Elaine assessed the impact of global economic developments on the corporation and advised the C-suite on competitive and economic policy issues.

At the U.S. Treasury Department, Elaine served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination in the Office of Economic Policy. She was an economic advisor to the Treasury Secretary and other senior officials on a wide range of domestic policy issues, notably infrastructure, housing finance, and financial regulatory reform.

In her economic consulting career, Elaine provided expert testimony on finance and commercial litigation issues at the Brattle Group and NERA Economic Consulting. She began her career at the International Monetary Fund and Morgan Stanley.

Elaine has briefed senior officials at the White House, Federal Reserve Board, and Congress on macroeconomic and auto topics. She is frequently quoted in major media outlets, including Bloomberg, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and NPR.

She currently serves on the Yale University Council and the Geoeconomic Council of Advisers of think tank CSIS and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Elaine was previously on the board of the National Association of Business (NABE).

Elaine earned her Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her B.A. with a double major in Economics and English, magna cum laude, from Yale University.