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Electric Cars In Norway | Earth Wise

June 12, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We are at a relatively early stage of the electric car revolution. EV sales are increasing rapidly, but they still comprise only a small fraction of the cars on American roads. So, there is still lots of speculation and argument about how things will actually work when a large fraction of cars are electric. But there is at least one place where one doesn’t have to speculate: Norway.

Last year, 80% of new-car sales in Norway were EVs. That country is essentially an observatory for figuring out what the electrification of vehicles will mean for the environment, workers, and life in general. In fact, sales of internal combustion cars in Norway will end in 2025.

Based on Norway’s experience, electric vehicles bring benefits and none of the dire consequences that some critics predict. The transition isn’t problem-free. There have been unreliable chargers and long waits during periods of high demand. Auto dealers and retailers have had to adapt to the changes in their businesses. The pecking order of car brands has changed dramatically making Tesla the best-selling brand and marginalizing long-established carmakers like Renault and Fiat.

But in the bigger picture, the air in Oslo, the capital of Norway, is measurably cleaner. The city is quieter as noisy gasoline and diesel vehicles gradually disappear. Oslo’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 30% since 2009. Meanwhile, there hasn’t been mass unemployment among gas station workers, and the electrical grid has not collapsed.

Norway is perhaps 10 years ahead of us with respect to electric cars. There are still problems to solve, and difficulties to overcome, but so far, it looks like it will all turn out well.

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In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived

Photo, posted October 15, 2018, courtesy of Mario Duran-Ortiz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon From 25 Cities | Earth Wise

September 10, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There are roughly 10,000 cities in the world, defined as places with at least 50,000 inhabitants with a sufficient population density. Roughly half the world’s population lives in cities.

Urban carbon emissions are one of the world’s biggest problems with respect to the climate. A new study has determined that just 25 cities globally are responsible for 52% of urban greenhouse gas emissions.

The study gathered data on greenhouse gas emissions in 167 cities in 53 countries. The results were that megacities in Asia, such as Shanghai and Tokyo, were among the biggest total emitters, and that major cities in Europe, the US, and Australia tended to have larger per capita emissions. Several Chinese cities, however, matched levels seen in developed countries. Researchers tracked emissions over time in 42 of the cities studied. Some cities saw declining emissions in the period between 2005 and 2016. These included Oslo, Houston, Seattle, and Bogota. Others saw large increases, including Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, and Venice.

The largest sources of emissions are power generation, industry, and transportation. In a third of the cities, road transportation alone accounted for over 30% of emissions. (Railways, waterways, and aviation combined only accounted for less than 15% of total emissions).

Half of the world’s population lives in cities, but cities are responsible for more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, cities have a big responsibility for the decarbonization of the global economy. Of the 167 cities in the study, 113 have set emission-reduction targets. But as the study shows, cities have much more work to do to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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