Is xEV the silver bullet to solve the planet’s climate change ailment?
Albert Einstein famously said, ‘If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.’
With the world becoming aware of the perils of climate change, nations, leaders and common man started discussing and looking for “solutions” to solve the “climate problem”. Transport sector being the most “visible” polluter and being on the radar was and is sitting high on everybody’s agenda. And someone said “Let there be EV’s”. Amen! Said thousand others. And came “EV Strategies”, “EV Policies”, the blame games, and the confusion. What happens after BS VI? Are EV’s going to take away jobs? Is there a deadline? Oh! Are we going to ban ICE’s? What about BS VI? What about the money we invested in BS VI? GST rates for hybrids? Car buyers are confused. To buy or to not to buy, that’s the question!
But, the Problem is, To Know What the Problem Is.DO we know the problem? Or are we being tempted to favor a particular solution or approach, or are we pushing a “solution” in search of a “problem”.
Are we not missing the big picture here? Because, we design things that exist in a larger and complex system and the system we design within is interconnected and dynamic.
Do we have a “We are looking for X in order to achieve Z as measured by W.” statement?
Let us look at some facts.
1. Climate change is real.
2. What are the effects of climate change?
Economic Growth slows down, food production is affected, biodiversity and balance is disturbed, infrastructure is destroyed, public health bills go up and there is political instability.
3. How Oil Plays havoc with our economy?
Every $10 rise in price brings down GDP by 0.2-0.3% points, increases inflation by 10bps, and widens Current Account Deficit .
The recent Soudi Aramco refinery attack shows how vulnerable India can be, being world’s third top consumer. The OPEC production cuts and the sanctions doesn’t help much either.
So, what can be done about it?
Energy Efficiency
Increase efficiency, plug holes, use the right machines and appliances. How significant is energy efficiency? As per International Energy Agency Energy Efficiency Report 2018, we could have saved 16% of industry electricity use if all countries had adopted the strongest electric motor standards. We could have saved 2.2 million barrels of oil per day if all countries had adopted the best passenger fuel economy standards.
Renewable Energy: The need for production of clean energy does not need any explanation. But local production and costs do matter. Policies for wide usage of renewable energy sources must be made with holistic considerations and oversight.
Electrification: Making use of electrical machines which by nature operates at higher efficiency compared to engines that runs at less than 30% efficiency.
Circular economy: the idea of circular economy must be brought to the masses and can be applied starting from homes. Civic bodies can set up facilities like energy from waste plants. Small scale industries and large scale manufacturing plants can consider circular economy in their design and life cycle management processes.
Smart network infrastructure: This can be considered in city infrastructure planning to increase efficiency is everyday activities related to transport and citizens’ services
Renewable biological resources: This involves production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bio-energy. The bio-economy is usage of renewable biological resources from land and sea – such as crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms – to produce food, materials and energy.
Five Minute City: plan city in such a way that it is only five minutes to walk from your apartment to a kindergarten, to shops, to public amenities.
National parks and Tiger reserves: National parks and tiger reserves can play a huge role in carbon emissions and balance. As per report published by Indian Institute of Forest Management, Melghat Tiger reserve provides flow benefits (pollination, water retention, gene pool protection etc.) worth Rs 12,349.3 crore per year (Rs 6.09 lakh per hectare) and stock benefits (carbon and timber) of Rs 75,043.33 crore per year. As another example, Panna tiger reserve is found to give flow benefits worth Rs 6,954.6 crore per year (Rs 4.08 lakh per hectare) and stock benefits of Rs 13,745.53.
Methane Emissions at Refineries: Fugitive methane emissions occur from leakages that are not intended. And there is vented methane emissions due to intentional releases. Incomplete flaring methane emissions occurs when natural gas cannot be used or recovered economically and is burned.
But, what are we doing? Many of us do not try to see the big picture and decide that EV’s are going to solve all the pollution and climate problems. But Actually EV’s is just one (important) part of the solution.
Requirement of a quarter inch hole (pollution and climate change) is the problem. We are trying to sell the quarter inch drill (EV’s) to make the hole.
They are not going to buy an EV unless it is affordable, ownership costs and low and are convinced that adequate infrastructure is in place.
Another very important Question is How clean the EV is depends on the grid mix. If the grd has a high share of Coal based electricity, then Hybrids may be cleaner than BEV’s.
Shifting away from a carbon economy is a complex process involving a wide spectrum of activities in a huge canvas. This includes infrastructure, clean energy, city planning, national parks, circular economy, awareness among citizens, and collaboration between various private and government agencies with participation of citizens. This needs to be planned in a structured way holistically with required level of oversight involving experts from all fields which is connected to this whole activity in one way or other. There is no silver bullet to solve the climate and pollution problem. It has to be a collective effort and this sure is going to open up a huge set of challenges and opportunities for value creation which needs to be suitably identified and exploited.
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