{"id":2101,"date":"2021-09-09T16:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T16:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacioncanal.com\/blog\/?p=2101"},"modified":"2021-09-24T12:51:54","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T12:51:54","slug":"electric-movility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacioncanal.com\/blog\/en\/electric-movility\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Mobility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Estimated reading time: 4,40 minutes) <\/em>\u2013 Audio version of article available.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, and rolling\nout renewable energies are three vertices on a triangle that is fundamental in\nthe fight against climate change. Like traffic signals, it is warning us about\nthe danger of not taking action in time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrifying all economic sectors is essential to\ndecarbonise by 2050. This is the goal that Europe agreed to in order to keep\nGreenhouse Gas Emissions (GGEs), which would increase the planet’s average\ntemperature, in check. We must all work together to keep it below 1.5\u00baC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transforming mobility in our country to make it more\nsustainable is a pressing need. In Spain, petroleum derived fuels account for\nmore than 90% of total energy consumed by transport, a sector responsible for\n25% of our total GGEs. Of special concern is road transport, both for\npassengers and for freight, which accounts for 95% of these emissions (MITECO<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is very important that we undertake this mission by\ngoing back to transporting freight by railway and by electrifying our\nautomobiles. The problem is not only limited to the fight against climate\nchange. In cities, wheeled traffic is the main culprit behind the pollution issue,\nwhich is a true threat to human health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to calculations by the World Health\nOrganisation (WHO), in 2016, atmospheric pollution around the world causes 4.2\nmillion premature deaths every year, both in urban hubs and in rural areas.\nThis organisation is constantly drawing attention to the fact that reducing\nair-pollution levels could “reduce the burden of disease from stroke,\nheart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases,\nincluding asthma<\/em>“(OMS,\n2018<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, therefore, a great hazard to health. Tackling\nthis hazard is part of the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the UN for\n2030, specifically the third goal: “Ensure healthy lives and promote\nwell-being for all at all ages.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrifying with renewables and achieving clean\nmobility is one of the solutions, as set forth by the recently-enacted Law on\nClimate Change and Energy Transition published in the Federal Gazette 20 May\n2021 (BOE, May\n2021<\/a>). The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan\n(PNIEC, in Spanish) sets the goal of reaching 5 million electric vehicles by\n2030, including private cars, vans, buses, and motorcycles, on roads in Spain.\nThis goal also includes that renewables must account for 28% of transport by\nthis same year (PNIEC\n2021-2030<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2021, the Government approved the Programa\nde Incentivos a la Movilidad Eficiente y Sostenible<\/em> (MOVES III) (Incentives\nProgramme for Efficient and Sustainable Mobility) under the Plan de\nRecuperaci\u00f3n, Transformaci\u00f3n y Resiliencia<\/em> (Recovery, Transformation, and\nResilience Plan), which is therefore endowed with European “Next\nGeneration” funds. With 400 million euros, which could be increased to 800\n(initially, it could be even more), this will finance the purchase of plug-in\nelectric or hybrid vehicles with direct grants (MITECO,\nApril 2021<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It shall also subsidise the installation of charging\ninfrastructure, since having a large network with charging stations will make a\nconsiderable contribution to the roll-out of this kind of mobility. According\nto the Climate Change Law, it will be mandatory to install at least one public\ncharging station at service stations that sell more than 5 million litres of\npetrol and diesel per year. Moreover, the PNIEC reminds us that Royal\nDecree-Law 15\/2018 of 5 October sets forth that any consumer may provide\ncharging services. Autonomous Communities are also developing their own plans\nto encourage roll-out of recharging networks and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also wealth and employment behind all this\nfor the country. For this reason, so that the automobile industry can take\nadvantage of this shift as an opportunity to improve its competitiveness, the\nGovernment has launched: \u201cPlan de impulso de la cadena de valor de la\nindustria de la automoci\u00f3n: Hacia una movilidad sostenible y conectada<\/em>\n(Plan to boost the chain of value in the automobile industry: Toward\nsustainable and connected mobility” (Moncloa,\n2020<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expansion of charging infrastructure, along with\nlower battery prices and favourable policies, has made sales of electric\npassenger vehicles rise from 450,000 in 2015 to 2.1 million in 2019 (“Electric Vehicle\nOutlook Bloomberg NEf<\/a>.” 2020<\/a>). It\nis expected that this trend shall continue, since the sector predicts that\ntechnological innovation will resolve the issue that may arise in terms of raw\nmaterial costs (“Batteries\nvs oil: A comparison of raw material needs.” Transport & Environment,\nMarch 2021<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything points toward clean and electric mobility\nas a determining factor in the green economy’s upward curve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n