By Alicia Liu   Photo： Kindel Media

Save the climate, the world enters the era of electric vehicles.

Over a decade ago, when electric vehicles (EVs) were first introduced, they were considered avant-garde products targeting niche markets. Today, EVs have become an inevitable global mainstream trend. Major automotive brands are not only actively developing and launching electric vehicles but have also pledged to completely phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030. For example, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have announced plans to gradually eliminate gasoline-powered cars by 2022, 2025, and 2030, respectively. Volvo even ceased the production of traditional fuel-powered cars last year.

It's no wonder that Hyundai Motor Company, representing 8% of the global market, aims to sell one million eco-friendly electric vehicles by 2025, a goal that has left many skeptical. In 2019 alone, Hyundai's vehicle sales exceeded 7.7 million units. Even if the company maintains similar sales figures in 2025, it implies that 80% of its products will still rely on traditional fuel sources. The pace of the transition is perceived as disappointing.

To urge Hyundai Motor Company to take more proactive carbon reduction measures, Greenpeace took a bold step in September 2020. They erected a massive banner featuring a photo of Hyundai's then Vice Chairman, Chung Eui-sun, in front of the company's headquarters in Seoul, demanding that Hyundai's top management pay attention to the climate crisis and stop indulging in petroleum dependency.

Are electric cars really environmentally friendly?

Of course, switching to electric vehicles is an important part of the global energy transition, but does adopting electric vehicles necessarily mean environmental protection and carbon reduction?

The reality is not that simple. While EVs can reduce air pollution and carbon emissions during operation, their environmental impact depends heavily on the manufacturing location. Since the production process of cars requires electricity, the power structure of the manufacturing location determines the environmental impact of EV production. The environmental impact is lower in regions where a high proportion of renewable energy is used for production. Conversely, if the share of coal power is high, carbon emissions will significantly increase. Additionally, the location where EVs are used is crucial because the source of power for charging also affects the actual carbon emissions of the vehicles. If fossil fuels generate the electricity used for charging, carbon emissions and pollution are merely shifted to the power generation location.

Taking Taiwan as an example, approximately 40% of the country's electricity is still generated from coal. Therefore, if Taiwan adopts EVs without transitioning the power system away from coal and other fossil fuels towards cleaner energy, achieving low carbon emissions becomes challenging.

Decarbonizing Transportation for a Lighter Travel Experience

Although EVs are more favorable for energy transformation than conventional vehicles, there's a fundamental question: Do we really need so many cars?

According to a survey by the Ministry of Transportation, in 2018, Taiwan's automobile ownership exceeded 8 million vehicles, with an average of 1.5 vehicles per household. In Taipei, people spend nearly 14 minutes on average searching for parking spaces each time they park, and the number of vehicles in Taiwan continues to grow. To accommodate the ever-growing number of vehicles, more roads and parking lots must be built in urban areas. Currently, about half of the city is occupied by vehicles, depriving people of their rights to walk, live, and use public spaces and impacting the environment and ecosystems.

A recent controversial plan by the German government to cut down trees and clear roads for highway construction, reflecting outdated construction thinking that has not kept pace with carbon reduction goals. Currently, the carbon emissions from Taiwan's transportation account for about 14% of the country's total carbon emissions. If we genuinely consider gradually decarbonizing transportation, we must reconsider our current methods of car use and land utilization.

The latest research from the European Climate and Energy Institute indicates that, to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of transportation, it is necessary not only to stop selling fossil fuel cars but also to increase the development and use of public transportation significantly. The number of passenger cars must decrease by 47% compared to 2015 by 2040.

Energy transformation is a long-term and complex process. In the process of reducing carbon emissions from transportation, besides promoting EVs, we need more comprehensive green public transportation solutions. Reducing coal-based power, increasing green energy, decreasing cars and roads, and increasing natural and living spaces are visionary ways of construction.

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