The allure of technology: How France and California promoted electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce urban air pollution

Abstract

All advanced industrialized societies face the problem of air pollution produced by motor vehicles. In spite of striking improvements in internal combustion engine technology, air pollution in most urban areas is still measured at levels determined to be harmful to human health. Throughout the 1990s and beyond, California and France both chose to improve air quality by means of technological innovation, adopting legislation that promoted clean vehicles, prominently among them, electric vehicles (EVs). In California, policymakers chose a technology-forcing approach, setting ambitious goals (e.g., zero emission vehicles), establishing strict deadlines and issuing penalties for non-compliance. The policy process in California called for substantial participation from the public, the media, the academic community and the interest groups affected by the regulation. The automobile and oil industries bitterly contested the regulation, in public and in the courts. In contrast, in France the policy process was non-adversarial, with minimal public participation and negligible debate in academic circles. We argue that California's stringent regulation spurred the development of innovative hybrid and fuel cell vehicles more effectively than the French approach. However, in spite of the differences, both California and France have been unable to put a substantial number of EVs on the road. Our comparison offers some broad lessons about how policy developments within a culture influence both the development of technology and the impact of humans on the environment.

Policies for Promotion of Electric Vehicles and Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchasing Decisions of Low Emission Vehicles

“…The use of electric vehicles can be promoted among potential buyers with direct measures, while the development of electric vehicles can be stimulated with indirect measures in order to meet the customer or even the legislative body's needs. Policies can be accepted unilaterally [4] or as an agreement between representatives of the society [5]. The availability of alternative energy sources and the environmental impact of transportation sector will play major role in the evolution of the transportation sector.…”

Sustainable transport fleet appraisal using a hybrid multi-objective decision making approach

“…3. Pollution emissions: Vehicle emissions are major sources of air pollution such as carbon monoxide (CO 2 and CO), nitrogen oxide (NO x ), volatile organic compounds (VOC) [or hydrocarbons (HC)], particulate matter (PM), and smoke that can cause environmental issues including smog, haze, acid rain, and climate change (Yan and Crookes 2010;Calef and Goble 2007;Orsato and Wells 2007). Countries face great challenges to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals, with road transportation being responsible for most of those emissions (Reichmuth et al 2013;Safaei Mohamadabadi et al 2009).…”

The market for battery electric vehicles

“…Although the focus is more on a global perspective, the drivers are still predominantly nation-specific, including rising environmental awareness of customers, the competiveness of the automotive industry, increasing fuel prices, problems of local air pollution, and other effects . Past political activities used to promote electric vehicles were mainly based on local environmental issues such as high air pollution and national industrial and economical politics (Calef and Goble, 2007). Today, however, three major drivers can be identified on a more global perspective.…”