Gasoline Phaseout News – December 2025

Welcome Adam Stern, Coltura’s New Co-Executive Director

We’re pleased to announce that Adam Stern, an environmental and clean energy leader with more than 30 years of experience in nonprofits, business, and government, will join the Coltura staff as co-executive director, effective January 1, 2026. Adam will share executive director responsibilities with Janelle London, who will remain as our other co-executive director. 

Adam will split his time with Coltura and continuing as executive director of Offshore Wind California (OWC), a leading business trade group and advocacy organization which he helped start in 2019. Prior to joining OWC, he was executive director of Acterra, a San Francisco Bay Area climate education and advocacy group. In earlier positions, he served as climate program manager for the San Francisco Department of the Environment, vice president for policy and strategy at TerraPass, deputy director for the Environmental Defense Fund, and special assistant for international affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Adam is a graduate of Yale University and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has served as a member of Coltura’s Advisory Circle since 2019. Please join us in welcoming Adam to Coltura!

Honoring Matthew Metz’s 11-Years of Industry-Changing Leadership at Coltura

After more than a decade of visionary leadership, Coltura founder and co-executive director Matthew Metz will be leaving Coltura at the end of this year to work full-time on EVQ, a public benefit corporation spun out of Coltura that builds AI-driven software tools and consumer platforms that help people understand, select, and purchase electric vehicles.

Matthew founded Coltura in 2014 with the goal of phasing out gasoline use in the US. What began as “crazy fringe dreamer stuff,”quickly became a blueprint for real-world policy change. As The Seattle Times observed, Matt has a rare ability to speak ideas into existence — ideas that “suddenly become true.”

Over the past 11 years, Matthew led Coltura to reshape the electric vehicle landscape:

• Launched the gas car phaseout movement in the U.S., beginning in Washington and California, and shifting the public conversation from incremental EV adoption to ending gasoline use altogether. The movement brought about historic policy achievements including regulations phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles in 14 states.
• Created and/or produced a series of conceptual art installations on the theme of gasoline, including the “Gas Trap,” the Gasoline Ghosts, Gasoline Madonna, No Gasoline Day, and “My Child, Our Air.”
• Wrote Recharge Required, the first comprehensive analysis of public fleet EV adoption by a U.S. state.
• Wrote (with Janelle London) Governing the Gasoline Spigot, a pioneering law review article on gas station regulation.
• Wrote (with Janelle London) “State Vehicle Electrification Mandates and Federal Preemption,” a pioneering (and newly relevant) law review article on how states can mandate electric vehicles outside of the Clean Air Act framework
• Invented the “Gasoline Superuser” concept, changing how advocates and policymakers think about consumer gasoline use.
• Pioneered big-data analysis of consumer gasoline consumption, bringing new rigor and insight to transportation policy.
• Launched AI-powered software tools to accelerate progress toward electrification.

Through it all, Matthew’s work at Coltura has been widely recognized, with coverage from outlets such as The New York Times, USA Today, and Bloomberg, and engagement from major institutions and decision-makers.

While Matthew is stepping away from his day-to-day role at Coltura, his impact will continue to be felt for years to come — in the policies passed, the ideas normalized, and the momentum built toward a cleaner transportation future.

We’re deeply grateful for Matthew’s leadership, creativity, and persistence, and we’re excited to see him carry this legacy forward as he leads EVQ into its next chapter. Please join us in thanking Matthew for everything he’s built at Coltura, and in cheering him on in this exciting new role.

See Matthew’s video letter to Coltura supporters here.

We’re More Than Halfway There. Help Launch the Pilot!

Thanks to supporters like you, Coltura has raised $62,000 towards our $100,000 goal to launch the Gasoline Superuser Pilot.

Our research shows that just 10% of U.S. drivers burn 35% of the nation’s gasoline. These high-mileage drivers spend thousands each year on fuel, and stand to save the most by switching to electric vehicles.

This pilot will prove that targeted, data-driven outreach can help these drivers make the switch to EVs, cutting emissions faster while saving families money, at a fraction of the cost of government EV incentives.

We’re close, but we need your help to finish strong.
Give today! All gifts are doubled through December 31.

Year-End Reflections

This year has been a mixed bag in the quest to reduce gasoline use. Globally EV adoption reached a new high, with EVs making up more than 25% of new cars sold. This increase was largely driven by explosive growth in China and emerging markets. In 2019, there were just 4 countries where EVs make up more than 10% of new car sales. Now there are 39.

Despite this, year-to-date, global gasoline demand has reached an all-time high of 27.36 million barrels a day. The International Energy Agency has abandoned its forecast of peak world gasoline demand occurring in 2025. Under its Current Policies Scenario, the peak may not occur until 2050 or later.

In the US, gasoline demand may have already peaked. It has remained relatively flat this year at 8.9 million barrels/day, below pre-pandemic levels. The US EV adoption rate is higher than ever at around 10%. Industry experts at Edmunds predict that hundreds of thousands of relatively new used EVs will go on the market in 2026, providing America’s drivers with an abundance of affordable options for making the switch.

So EV adoption rates are good and getting better. Now it’s time to drive gasoline use down by making sure that the biggest gasoline users are getting EVs. This is what Coltura has been working on, and we will continue this work in 2026. With your help, we will succeed.

Data Insight of the Month:

Superuser Gasoline Use and Annual Miles

The US drivers in the top 10% for gasoline use, or “Gasoline Superusers” drive on average 40,242 miles a year and burn 1,895 gallons of gasoline, versus non-Superusers at 8,598 miles a year and 392 gallons. See more Superuser facts at coltura.org/gasoline-superusers-3-report/

Gas Station of the Month:

Flooding Causes Gasoline Leak

Heavy flooding in Auburn, Washington recently inundated a local gas station, submerging tanks and leading to fuel leaking into floodwaters and the air. The EPA has been on the scene monitoring air quality as cleanup crews work to contain the spill and protect the surrounding community. Residents reported strong gasoline odors coming from near the gas station, prompting road closures and coordinated response from federal and local teams.

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TOOLS TO IMPROVE YOUR AUDIENCE’S EV SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

Does your agency or nonprofit want to help your community buy EVs? Our embeddable EV tools give your audience the ability to get any EV question answered, calculate their EV savings, and find the largest selection of EV inventory available near them. Learn more and test drive the tools here.

Culture Corner:

EV Influencers

Social media influencers sell products and start trends, and now they’re shaping the future of electric mobility. A Technica feature highlights 15 such EV influencers, from CEOs transforming charging infrastructure to media creators like the host of Fully Charged who decode EV tech for millions. These voices blend industry leadership with storytelling that pushes clean transportation forward. Their rise shows that the EV conversation is now as much cultural as technological, and influencers are steering it.