A Shift from Motorized Vehicles to Electric Vehicles Towards a Policy Framework

Abstract

There is a lot of buzz on converting to Electric Vehicles from the conventional Internal Combustion Engines around the globe. Indian Government has ambitious plans to shift from the petrol and diesel vehicles to completely electric by 2030. India, by the Motor Vehicle Bill in 2015 was able to establish E-Rickshaws as a commercial form of transport which is a start to shift towards Electric Vehicles. Indian Government on the other hand already announced $1.3 billion as incentive to increase the sales of all forms of Electric Vehicles. The ICE vehicles are powered by fossil fuels and despite several emission regulations, these ICE vehicles tend to increase the emissions locally and globally. Although several countries have switched to Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a fuel, they are still not considered as green fuels due to the emissions involved in the extraction of these fuels and their contribution to smog and greenhouse gas production. Hence the world is looking for alternatives and collectively moving towards developing new technologies that produce low-emission vehicles. Under such circumstances, Electric Vehicles are seen as a solution to reduce emissions globally. But the question that remains is whether Electric vehicles are really a better alternative in reducing the carbon emissions?