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How to become Asia’s EV ‘Detroit’, while living longer and healthier lives
Electric vehicles (EVs) will be a game changer if everybody has access to them, whether as personal vehicles, public transportation or mobility as a service.
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Green machine: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (third left) and his entourage visit a Hyundai factory that produces the Ionic 5 electric car in Bekasi, West Java, on March 16, 2022. (AFP/Presidential Palace/Handout)
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arious media outlets reported on Wednesday morning that Jakarta had the worst air quality on Earth. The World Health Organization (WHO), in late 2021, issued new guidelines identifying air pollution as the biggest threat to human health, alongside climate change. The organization wrote further that clean air should be a fundamental human right.
Research has shown that electric vehicles (EVs) can dramatically reduce carbon emissions and increase air quality. According to a 2020 Environment and Forestry Ministry report, transportation is the second-fastest growing fossil fuel consumer. So, if we are to avert climate change and prevent untimely deaths, it is worth thinking about adopting cleaner vehicles and making the transportation system inclusive and sustainable for all.
Getting cleaner EVs on the road is not just about stopping the sales of internal combustion engine cars and selling fashionable EVs. It is not going to make much difference if only a few use them. It will be a game changer if everybody has access to them, whether personal vehicles, public transportation or mobility as a service, etc.
It is about developing infrastructure, managing the transition and changing behaviors and lifestyles – a mix of incentives and disincentives, institutions and regulations, a vibrant ecosystem and, last but not the least, creative financing. This also implies the need for orchestrated strategy, ecosystem design, planning and monitoring from cradle to grave and at all layers of the EV ecosystem.
Among the countries leading in air quality and clean vehicles, Norway is an exemplar. Although the country is a strong producer and exporter of oil and gas, nowadays it is an EV leader. It is also possible that it will be among the first countries to reach net-zero emissions.
In 2020, data indicated that sales of EVs in Norway already represented some 75 percent of new car sales. It is also interesting to note that they do not subsidize Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). However, BEV users incur less tax, because tax on gasoline is high and tax on electricity, which is mainly generated through hydropower, is lower. And there are perks such as lower tolls, parking fees and lower loan interest rates.
In a way, these policies and “ecosystem” work well. They provide enticing benefits to users not to delay using BEVs or wait for BEVs at cheaper prices or with better performance, because the sooner users switch to BEVs, the longer they can enjoy the benefits. Indeed, by 2025, Norway seems to be well positioned to ditch petrol cars. To further the lead in clean transportation system, innovations are also well underway on clean ships and digitized power grids.
