Abstract
Burgeoning demands for mobility and private vehicle ownership undermine global efforts to reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced vehicles powered by low-carbon sources of electricity or hydrogen offer an alternative to conventional fossil-fuelled technologies. Yet, despite ambitious pledges and investments by governments and automakers, it is by no means clear that these vehicles will ultimately reach mass-market consumers. Here, we develop state-of-the-art representations of consumer preferences in multiple global energy-economy models, specifically focusing on the non-financial preferences of individuals. We employ these enhanced model formulations to analyse the potential for a low-carbon vehicle revolution up to 2050. Our analysis shows that a diverse set of measures targeting vehicle buyers is necessary to drive widespread adoption of clean technologies. Carbon pricing alone is insufficient to bring low-carbon vehicles to the mass market, though it may have a supporting role in ensuring a decarbonized energy supply.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 664-673 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Nature Energy |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We acknowledge funding provided by the ADVANCE project (FP7/2007–2013, grant agreement number 308329) of the European Commission. P. Kolp, D. Huppmann and M. Strubegger of IIASA provided critical assistance with MESSAGE-Transport model development. B. Girod (ETH-Zürich) helped with IMAGE model development. N. Lutsey of The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) referred us to the most up-to-date information on AFV-supporting policies at the time of writing.