Why should governments embrace the switch to electric vehicles? Which different policy domains are relevant to electric vehicles? How can we combine and link the different relevant policy domains? Watch this lecture by professor Margot Weijnen to find out.
Module1: Policy Ambitions
Lecture 1: Policy Ambitions
Learning goals for this lecture:
1. Review relevant policy domains for electric vehicles
2. Recognize how electric vehicles can potentially benefit public health and climate change policy
3. Identify how electric vehicles are linked to energy policy
4. List the specific policy targets per domain
5. Describe the economic motivations behind switching to electric vehicles
Policy ambitions Welcome! I am Margot Weijnen, and I am a full professor of Process and Energy Systems Engineering at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of the Delft University of Technology. In this module we will address electric cars in a policy perspective, more specifically: the public policy perspective: the perspective of government and public administration.
Why does public policy matter? Why are policy interventions needed, and how should these be shaped? In this lecture, we will focus on the first question: why should government intervene to stimulate electric mobility? In a democratic society, government intervention must be justified. It is not enough to specify the problem to be solved and the goal to be reached. We must also ascertain the public interest at stake. Public interests are, for example, concerned with public health and safety, and protecting the weakest members of society. Government is in place to defend public interests and safeguard public values. We see governments around the world today embracing electric mobility as a solution or at least part of the solution to a wide range of problems where the public interest is at stake. Which problems then are electric vehicles supposed to solve? Let me briefly review the various policy challenges where electric vehicles are providing solutions:
The first one is Public health policy: Air quality is a serious challenge in many cities today. And road traffic is a major cause of urban air pollution, as the car exhaust fumes of conventional cars, trucks, and buses contain many compounds that affect our health, and those include NOx and particulate emissions. NOx refers to both nitric oxide(NO) and nitrogen dioxide(NO2), which contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain. Internal combustion engines on diesel and gasoline also emit fine particulate matter in the form of soot. Chronic exposure to particulates in ambient air leads to a number of health risks. Because all types of very fine particulate matter can penetrate deeply into sensitive lung tissue and damage it. Not only causing or worsening respiratory diseases, such as emphysema or bronchitis, but also affecting the cardiovascular system and aggravating existing heart disease. Research of the Joint Research Center and the World Health Organization shows that, on average, traffic is the biggest source of air pollution worldwide, responsible for approximately one-quarter of particulate matter in the air. So, now you understand why governments around the world are embracing electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are emission free, and moreover, they are silent, and hence bring major improvement to the ambient air quality and the livability of the urban environment. The importance of this improvement cannot be underestimated, when you realize that already more than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities and that, between today and 2050, the population in urban regions will increase with 2.5 billion people.
Then, let us now move to climate change policy, as the second policy domain: Because, conventional vehicles not only emit NOx and particulates. The combustion of hydrocarbons also results in carbon dioxide emissions. And carbon dioxide is by far the biggest contributor to the phenomenon of manmade climate change. In December 2015, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) adopted the so-called Paris climate agreement, which entails a commitment to keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and trying to limit the temperature increase even further to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. And this threat of global warming is another reason why governments are interested in emission-free electric mobility. Within the framework of the Paris climate agreement, many countries also signed the Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change & the corresponding Call to Action. All these countries that signed strive to have at least 20% of all vehicles on the road to be electrically powered by 2030.
Now you may object that electric vehicles may cause indirect emissions at the site where the electricity is produced, and you are right. You should realize, however, that it is a lot more cost-efficient to remove CO2 from the flue gas of a large power plant than to handle the distributed emissions of millions of vehicles on the road. And by the way, even if electricity is made from coal, the well-to-wheel emissions of fully electric vehicles are still lower than those of vehicles using fossil fueled internal combustion engines. Moreover, as more and more electricity is being generated from renewable energy resources, the carbon footprint of the electric power system itself should gradually be decreasing.
Which brings us to the policy perspective: the energy policy perspective. All societies are powered by energy, and the share of electricity in energy use is increasing. Besides the environmental quality of the electricity production mix, with the risk of adverse public health and climate change effects, governments are also concerned about the longterm security of energy supply. These concerns explain why governments stimulate the exploitation of renewable energy resources, especially hydro, solar and wind. Electricity from these sources is emission free in both generation and end-use.
But unfortunately, the supply of most renewable energy sources is variable. Hydropower is subject to seasonal fluctuations and may suffer from years of drought. Solar and wind energy do not only vary by season, but also show strong daily and even shorter fluctuations. In other words, a power system with a large share of variable renewable sources needs a lot of flexible standby capacity to cover for periods when sun, wind and hydro cannot deliver. However, standby generation capacity is often gas-powered, which is not only expensive, it also eliminates part of the environmental benefit of the renewable power system.
The alternative then is to solicit demand response, demand response from the electricity end-users: the concept here is that variations in the supply of electricity from renewable sources are matched by flexibility in electricity demand.
And now, this is exactly where electric vehicles come in: a huge flexibility potential on the demand side can in the future be unleashed by controlled charging of their batteries, that is, in response to the fluctuating supply of electricity from renewable sources. This strategy is also known as Grid-to-Vehicle(G2V) steering or smart charging. And at the same time, the combined batteries of electric vehicles represent a substantial storage potential, so that Vehicle-to-Grid(V2G) services are also possible: the batteries can supply power to the grid during times when renewable sources fall short.
And that brings us yet to another policy domain. To the transport and mobility system, the domain of transport and mobility policy. Transport of persons and goods is a key factor of economic value creation in any society. The transport policy maker will want to know if electric vehicles will be able to perform the same duties that conventional vehicles do. Will electric vehicles change mobility patterns, and how? What refueling infrastructure will be required? Just recharging for battery electric vehicles, or hydrogen refueling for fuel cell electric vehicles, or maybe both?
In modern societies, car use is considered a key element of individual freedom. Any interference with this freedom is politically sensitive. Yet, policy makers are challenged to accommodate future mobility needs in a responsible way, that is: efficient, clean, affordable and inclusive. However, using a car does not necessarily imply owning a car. In western societies, the young urban generation is more and more inclined to car sharing and to using Uber-type services, if they are not walking, biking or using public transport.
The electrification of cars also gives a spur to autonomous, self-driving vehicles. In the future, cities may thus be able to reduce the space for car parks. So anyway, the future of mobility with electric cars holds a lot of promise for improving the livability of the urban environment. Livability and accessibility are important factors for businesses. In deciding on a favorable location, to do their activities.
Which brings us to another policy perspective on electric vehicles: the economic policy perspective. Economic growth is probably the most important objective of economic policy, in order to create more welfare for society. In view of the challenges posed by climate change and the transition to a sustainable energy system, the new economic policy mantra is“green growth”. It is in this perspective that policies to support electric mobility may be designed. Just as an example: in its R&D programs, the European Commission has for years been striving to establish a strong European technology position in battery technology.
Wrapping up: Electric cars seem to solve a great variety of problems where public interests are clearly at stake, such as public health, climate change mitigation, energy security, clean and sustainable mobility and a prospering economy. The table here gives a summary of the policy domains and the corresponding policy goals which we have just discussed, and indicates some of the specific targets to be reached. That being said, we should also add, it is, notoriously difficult to design policy instruments in support of more than one specific policy goal at the same time.
We had a look at the different motivations behind the policies to promote the use of electric vehicles, but what are the different instruments that you can use as a policy maker? What are good examples of instruments that have a proven track record? Watch this lecture by prof. Margot Weijnen to find out.
Learning goals for this lecture are:
List the different types of policy options available
Understand how the state of California has promoted zero emission vehicles
Get a grasp on why a combination of policies is the most effective
See how local governments can be a main driver behind electric vehicles
Understand how an emission trading system works
Be able to list the main goals of the European Clean Mobility package
Now, if national governments embrace electric vehicles, how should their adoption be accelerated? How are municipal, state, national and super national governments playing their roles? What policy instruments are available? And which ones are being employed in the stimulation of electric mobility?
Module1: Policy Ambitions
Lecture 1: Policy Ambitions
Lecture 2: Policies and policy instruments