E-MOBILITY 16 May 2019
E-MOBILITY IN MALTA Challenges and opportunities Much has been said about the need to reduce the carbon footprint of our road transport system. Since the change-over of our energy system to natural gas, transport has become the major challenge to (i) reducing the impact of emissions on the environment and public health, and (ii) reaching our CO2 emission targets. This challenge was also highlighted in the 2019 Country Report by the European Commission in respect of our international obligations to reduce emissions. Director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta, Prof. Maria Attard, writes
he report stated that ‌ the 2020 target under the Effort Sharing Decision is expected to be missed by a margin of 11 pps, according to the latest national projections submitted to the Commission, which takes all existing measures into account. In 2030, this gap with the effort sharing target is expected to rise to 46 pps. One of the technological solutions set to reduce emissions from road transport is electrification. Electric mobility has been pushed, particularly by the European Commission, as the remedy which will resolve the concerns over CO2 in cities and urban areas, and thus reduce the CO2 contribution of transport. This said, efforts have been made to improve not only the performance of the electric vehicle, especially the battery, but also its image. All major car manufacturers have now released their electric car models and improved range and battery life. Prices are still high, however many governments have provided subsidies to assist car owners to change from conventionally fuelled vehicles to electric vehicles. Another significant investment in many cities have been the charging infrastructure for such fleets. These have been implemented widely in an attempt to also reduce the concerns over range. But what have been the realities on the ground in Malta? Despite the wider range of available vehicles, the investment in 102 charging points around the islands and the availability of grants to support behaviour change in favour of electric cars, the uptake has been overall very disappointing. Figure 1 shows the growth of electric passenger cars compared to the number of petrol and diesel passenger cars between 1998 and 2016, with the first electric cars being licensed in 2003. The total in 2016 was just above 150 electric cars. The recent efforts by the local car sharing company to release 150 electric cars and install 225 electric charging stations hopes to add
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more interest in this technology. In July 2012, the National Strategy for the Introduction of Electromobility in Malta aimed to have 5,000 electric vehicles in Malta by 2020. This target continues to drive the current policy for electromobility. We are still very far away from reaching this target (also shown in Figure 1) and therefore one questions the contribution and our over-reliance on the technology to solve our emissions problem. In 2015 a study which I coauthored with colleagues from the University of Malta showed little impact on the reduction of emissions if the only measure to achieve our targets was an electrification policy. This was tied
to the then energy mix from which Malta generated its electricity. This has changed now with the benefits accrued from the use of natural gas, and further potential if the islands manage to increase their share of alternative means of energy generation. Indeed, further studies have shown that there are some significant benefits from electrification of the fleet should the efforts to increase alternative, more environmental fuel sources be made. Electrification however is only a solution to one of the problems related to motorized transport. This might be a solution which, if implemented in tandem with shared concepts and the much anticipated automation, might
Number of Passenger Cars for the period 1998-2016 compared to the number of passenger electric cars over the same period. Source: National Statistics Office.
decrease some of the other negative impacts of our current road transport systems. The problems of congestion, parking, increasing land take up for private mobility, health consequences of a reduction in active travel, community severance and social exclusion cannot be tackled solely by technology developments. And whilst it is easier to implement technological solutions, it is critical that also behavioural challenges are tackled to encourage more active travel (walking and cycling) for short distance journeys, use of the bus through more and improved priority, and other means such as sea ferries where the geography and climate permit such modes. The 2015 study showed that the maximum benefits of reducing external costs (including emission and congestion reductions) would be through a modal shift. Significant investment in electric mobility will continue to improve the technology and make it more pervasive. Policy interventions and financial support will feed the change that is envisaged for the fleets, as many countries pledge zero-emission targets for their cities. It is hoped that our overreliance on this technology solution does not cloud our judgement on the actions that are needed to tackle the wider costs of transport systems which are heavily dependent on the private car.