82
infrastructure for their daily travel.” Another illustrated another part of
the logic of this vision when noting “people are afraid that the batteries will
not last long enough and it is very costly to get new ones.” This last statement
underscores the potential for a V2G system to become more easily controlled by profiteering companies—creating an exclusionary innovation
system or policy regime.
The global externality issues connected to electric mobility largely
touch on externalities—in various domains (environmental, community,
market) and scales (local, national, global). In the environmental domain,
some literature has noted that EVs, in particular, can lead to externalities
such as greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use, toxic pollution from
battery manufacturing and disposal, and water consumption. In terms of
climate change, for EVs to actually deliver well-to-wheels carbon reductions, the carbon content of electric power generation must be low.
Otherwise, EVs will simply shift the exposure to air pollution away from
urban areas and towards rural populations located closer to the power
plants that provide electricity for recharging EV batteries in the city. One
respondent offered an illustrative statement underscoring environmental
concerns in the context of plug-in hybrid EVs. They noted:
The problem with plug-in hybrid EVs in the region is that they can switch
between fossil fuels (gasoline or diesel) and all electric mode. Many of such cars
are bought by rich people not bothering to plug it in, driving it in pure fossil
mode all the time only to save 100,000 to 200,000 kroner in taxes. They buy the
car but never intend to use the environmental package, so that’s obvious that
you need some scheme to stimulate the real zero emission driving.
In addition, some research has suggested that EVs shift pollution from
local places and make it more regional; it also depends on local fuel mixes
whether a net benefit to health or greenhouse gas emissions occur.
Furthermore, the production of EVs requires equipment and material
inputs that raise concerns about toxicity and recycling. Electric drivetrains,
motors, and batteries need lithium, nickel, copper, and aluminium, as well
as critical materials, somewhat harder to find, such as cobalt and indium.
In this context, the possible environmental benefits of an electric mobility
transition—fewer greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality in
urban environments—may come at the cost of greater pollution from factories making components and the landfills and junkyards where obsolete
models end up. A final issue falls in the community domain, where
externalities to greater electric mobility adoption include greater risk of
B. SOVACOOL
infrastructure for their daily travel.” Another illustrated another part of
the logic of this vision when noting “people are afraid that the batteries will
not last long enough and it is very costly to get new ones.” This last statement
underscores the potential for a V2G system to become more easily controlled by profiteering companies—creating an exclusionary innovation
system or policy regime.
The global externality issues connected to electric mobility largely
touch on externalities—in various domains (environmental, community,
market) and scales (local, national, global). In the environmental domain,
some literature has noted that EVs, in particular, can lead to externalities
such as greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use, toxic pollution from
battery manufacturing and disposal, and water consumption. In terms of
climate change, for EVs to actually deliver well-to-wheels carbon reductions, the carbon content of electric power generation must be low.
Otherwise, EVs will simply shift the exposure to air pollution away from
urban areas and towards rural populations located closer to the power
plants that provide electricity for recharging EV batteries in the city. One
respondent offered an illustrative statement underscoring environmental
concerns in the context of plug-in hybrid EVs. They noted:
The problem with plug-in hybrid EVs in the region is that they can switch
between fossil fuels (gasoline or diesel) and all electric mode. Many of such cars
are bought by rich people not bothering to plug it in, driving it in pure fossil
mode all the time only to save 100,000 to 200,000 kroner in taxes. They buy the
car but never intend to use the environmental package, so that’s obvious that
you need some scheme to stimulate the real zero emission driving.
In addition, some research has suggested that EVs shift pollution from
local places and make it more regional; it also depends on local fuel mixes
whether a net benefit to health or greenhouse gas emissions occur.
Furthermore, the production of EVs requires equipment and material
inputs that raise concerns about toxicity and recycling. Electric drivetrains,
motors, and batteries need lithium, nickel, copper, and aluminium, as well
as critical materials, somewhat harder to find, such as cobalt and indium.
In this context, the possible environmental benefits of an electric mobility
transition—fewer greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality in
urban environments—may come at the cost of greater pollution from factories making components and the landfills and junkyards where obsolete
models end up. A final issue falls in the community domain, where
externalities to greater electric mobility adoption include greater risk of
B. SOVACOOL