Electric Vehicles Powered by Renewable Energy: Briefing Note for Climate Parliament
Published: July 2020
Main topic: Climate change, Adaptation
Study countrie(s): Global
Written by: Tali Trigg
Study type: Concept paper
Electric vehicles (EVs) are making increasing headway in terms of market deployment. In the beginning of the 2010s, the first commercially available passenger car EVs were sold, and today all 20 of the world’s top 20 automakers have electric models available. However, this commercialisation of EVs is not limited to passenger cars, but now includes such modes as ferries and small airplanes, but in terms of numbers, electric two- and three-wheelers as well as electric buses are by far the biggest numbers, share, and displacers of oil and bad air pollution worldwide.
A wide range of trends coalesce around EVs, and it can be hard to separate exciting news bits from actual change-making trends, but here are some important points to be aware of:
– Prices of lithium-ion (the most common chemistry) battery for electric vehicles as well as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have both come down approximately 90% in the last decade and continue to drop
– While battery recycling and sourcing of critical materials got off to a rocky start – something common in any new supply chain – the increased attention has led to much stricter recycling standards as well as improved sourcing of raw materials
– COVID-19 and other crises have made it clear the potential benefits of having a country’s vehicle fleet be more resilient, with lower local air pollutants, and perhaps even produced locally through renewable energy
– 80% of the world’s population live in cities that do not meet the World Health Organisation’s air quality standards. With EVs, there are zero pollutants emitted at the vehicle level, which has significant local air and noise pollutant benefits versus conventional vehicles
– EVs are part of the puzzle to solving climate change thanks to their increased efficiency and zero emissions (at the tailpipe)
– While EVs have rural applications, the urban freight sector benefits vastly from shorter distances and higher densities found in cities, as well as bus services, and the implication is that electrifying these fleets are an opportunity worth considering seriously
