It is notorious that transport is one of the main air pollutants. “According to scientists, it is motor transport which “generates” 80-90 percent of carbon monoxide, particulate matters and nitrous oxide emissions.”
For this reason, global community is actively seeking a solution to this problem. People from around the world are increasingly changing to such sustainable types of transport as, for example, bicycles, scooters, etc., thereby reducing their carbon footprint.
However, these measures are not always sufficient. Unfortunately in many cases it is impossible not to use cars, trains and air transport, for example, to travel to long distances. That’s where modern technologies can be helpful.
Even today some countries try to introduce bans on the sales of cars with internal combustion engines. For instance, the government of China strives to completely abandon cars with ICE by 2030-2040. Similar measures are also being gradually introduced in France, the Netherlands, India, UK and Norway.
As a result, car manufacturers have started to revise their policies. Many global companies are gradually adapting their business models to the existing climatic realities.
One example is that the world-known automobile company Ford declared that it intends to discontinue the production of cars with internal combustion engines and is going to produce electric cars. As Mr. Ted Cannis, Director of the company’s “green” line, noted: “The days of regular cars are coming to an end”. The first “green” models are planned to be released in 2020.
What is the main advantage of electric cars? According to the US Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the electric cars use 60-65% of energy to actuate the wheels, while in ICE cars it takes only 16-25% of energy, most of the energy is spent on the operation of an internal combustion engine.
For that very reason, the number of sold electric cars in Europe has already increased by 42 percent this August. The best-selling models are Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and new hybrid version of Porsche Cayenne.
It is also important to note that transition to green models takes place not only in automobile industry, it also covers other transport sectors.
Thus, for instance, hydrogen-powered trains will be commissioned this autumn in Germany. It is planned to launch 2 trains, but the contract provides that in the future the number of trains will increase to 14. According to manufacturers, in the future hydrogen-powered trains will completely replace the trains operating on such fossil fuels as gasoline and diesel.
The Norwegian authorities went even further in their efforts to abandon fossil fuels. The country has been actively using electric cars for a long time. However, due to the country’s geographical structure, where the major part of settlements is located on islands, air traffic is also of particular importance for internal transportation. For this reason, the Norwegian authorities are planning to gradually switch to electric aircraft models and by 2040 all local flights will be delivered by electric aircrafts.
Unfortunately, electric alternatives to traditional transport are still not widely used in the countries of Central Asia. Nevertheless, some progress is observed. Thus, for example, the profitability of electric buses was evaluated in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. The results were seemingly contradictory, however, the city authorities announced their intention to purchase 200 units of electric transport vehicles for Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
The reduction of tax or exemption of consumers from paying the transport tax and provision of a functional infrastructure that will allow them not to be afraid that the electric car will stop on the road due to a simple inaccessibility of charging stations could change the situation of the low popularity of electric transport in Central Asia. It will be difficult to develop electric transport in Central Asia until such opportunities are properly provided.
___________________Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB)
