The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios
Electrification is widely considered an attractive solution for reducing the oil dependency and environmental impact of road transportation. Many countries have been establishing increasingly stringent and ambitious targets in support of transport electrification. We conducted scenario simulations t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab6658 |
| _version_ | 1827870067166019584 |
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| author | Runsen Zhang Shinichiro Fujimori |
| author_facet | Runsen Zhang Shinichiro Fujimori |
| author_sort | Runsen Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Electrification is widely considered an attractive solution for reducing the oil dependency and environmental impact of road transportation. Many countries have been establishing increasingly stringent and ambitious targets in support of transport electrification. We conducted scenario simulations to depict the role of transport electrification in climate change mitigation and how the transport sector would interact with the energy-supply sector. The results showed that transport electrification without the replacement of fossil-fuel power plants leads to the unfortunate result of increasing emissions instead of achieving a low-carbon transition. While transport electrification alone would not contribute to climate change mitigation, it is interesting to note that switching to electrified road transport under the sustainable shared socioeconomic pathways permitted an optimistic outlook for a low-carbon transition, even in the absence of a decarbonized power sector. Another interesting finding was that the stringent penetration of electric vehicles can reduce the mitigation cost generated by the 2 °C climate stabilization target, implying a positive impact for transport policies on the economic system. With technological innovations such as electrified road transport, climate change mitigation does not have to occur at the expense of economic growth. Because a transport electrification policy closely interacts with energy and economic systems, transport planners, economists, and energy policymakers need to work together to propose policy schemes that consider a cross-sectoral balance for a green sustainable future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:52:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f3fa149aab84f5fb834db2301844f23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:52:32Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f3fa149aab84f5fb834db2301844f232023-08-09T15:02:40ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262020-01-0115303401910.1088/1748-9326/ab6658The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenariosRunsen Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9841-8453Shinichiro Fujimori1Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University , 1-5-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 7398529, JapanDepartment of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Kyoto University, 361 Kyoto University Katsura Campus , Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 6158540, JapanElectrification is widely considered an attractive solution for reducing the oil dependency and environmental impact of road transportation. Many countries have been establishing increasingly stringent and ambitious targets in support of transport electrification. We conducted scenario simulations to depict the role of transport electrification in climate change mitigation and how the transport sector would interact with the energy-supply sector. The results showed that transport electrification without the replacement of fossil-fuel power plants leads to the unfortunate result of increasing emissions instead of achieving a low-carbon transition. While transport electrification alone would not contribute to climate change mitigation, it is interesting to note that switching to electrified road transport under the sustainable shared socioeconomic pathways permitted an optimistic outlook for a low-carbon transition, even in the absence of a decarbonized power sector. Another interesting finding was that the stringent penetration of electric vehicles can reduce the mitigation cost generated by the 2 °C climate stabilization target, implying a positive impact for transport policies on the economic system. With technological innovations such as electrified road transport, climate change mitigation does not have to occur at the expense of economic growth. Because a transport electrification policy closely interacts with energy and economic systems, transport planners, economists, and energy policymakers need to work together to propose policy schemes that consider a cross-sectoral balance for a green sustainable future.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab6658transport electrificationelectric vehiclescross-sectoral interactionenergy consumptionmitigation cost |
| spellingShingle | Runsen Zhang Shinichiro Fujimori The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios Environmental Research Letters transport electrification electric vehicles cross-sectoral interaction energy consumption mitigation cost |
| title | The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| title_full | The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| title_fullStr | The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| title_short | The role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| title_sort | role of transport electrification in global climate change mitigation scenarios |
| topic | transport electrification electric vehicles cross-sectoral interaction energy consumption mitigation cost |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab6658 |
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