The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) recently announced the launch of the Accelerating to Zero (A2Z) Coalition, the next stage in gaining more ambitious goals to a zero-emission vehicle transition compatible with the Paris Agreement. More than 200 signatories from national as well as subnational governments, NGOs, vehicle manufacturers, fleet owners, enterprises, and others pledged to have all new car and van sales become zero emission by 2035 in major markets and so by 2040 globally. This commitment was made public on Solutions Day at COP27.

The A2Z Coalition aims to provide a forum for communication amongst the top zero-emission transportation groups worldwide to aid in the understanding, creation, and execution of ambitious zero-emission mobility policies and strategies. The organization wants to hasten the uptake of zero-emission cars by offering a public platform where signees may coordinate their initiatives and exchange resources with other participants.

Although there is a positive trend towards e-mobility in the road transport industry, this movement must promptly and sharply accelerate to reach the COP27 global climate targets. As a result, the A2Z Coalition represents a potent new strategy for building the momentum as well as implementation support required to make the transition to zero-emission mobility.

Various nations are hence urging the manufacturers to make immediate changes in their present systems of production, manufacturing, and operations of Electric Vehicles to make it a ‘carbon-free’ cycle. Additionally, nations have been focused on implementing new policies and investment plans to beef up the transition towards zero emissions and meet the A2Z goals. In this blog, we will discuss how various industries in the EU are urging for ZEV transitions for a better future, how Canada will push the usage of ZEVs in the coming years and how the maritime industry is also shifting towards ZEVs to reduce carbon emissions. 

Various Cross-Industry Coalitions in the EU urge for a Robust Policy

In order to hasten the shift to zero-emission as well as CO2-neutral mobility, the automotive, electrical, charging infrastructure, and energy generating industries have banded together to push the European Parliament and Council to enact robust, linked legislation. At a cross-industry roundtable in Brussels, the sectors—all major actors in the decarbonization of road transportation—launched their first-ever joint plea to policymakers.

According to this industry coalition, there is an urgent need for greater investment in infrastructure for various automobiles, trucks, vans, and buses powered with alternative energy.  Therefore, in order to achieve its goals, the EU will need to set higher benchmarks for both public and private infrastructure than any of those suggested by the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) as well as Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recommendations from the European Commission.

To enable charging and hydrogen refueling stations financially feasible throughout the ramp-up stage of electric cars, public assistance, financial incentives, co-funding, and mandated objectives are required. According to the co-signatories, this is essential to ensuring that a basic infrastructure network is quickly made accessible throughout the EU. For a brief time, public involvement is required, particularly in places where its roll-out is slower.

Infrastructure development should coincide with the shift to zero-emission energy. In fact, making the shift to climate-neutral transportation and mobility will only make sense if done concurrently with the switch to zero-emission energy. The signatories contend that incentives should be provided to promote the use of zero-emission energy within the transportation industry. The aim is to expedite the regulatory processes in order to deploy the required renewable energy producing capacity.

Furthermore, the end user ought to not be neglected, with regulations that provide a customer-centric charging ecology that is reasonable and provides EU-wide roaming, without jeopardizing the contractual flexibility of this market’s operators.

Canada proposes a ZEV sales quota by 2026

The Canadian government has established enforceable sales targets for zero-emission vehicles in line with the objectives of the Zero Coalition. By 2026, a quarter of all brand-new passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs sold in the nation must be zero-emission versions, including electric as well as hydrogen fuel cell automobiles.

They are pursuing a regulated sales goal that calls for at least 20 percent of all new vehicles sold by 2026 to have zero emissions, with that number rising to 60 percent by 2030, and then to 100 percent by 2035. The quotas are expected to result in Canadians saving close to CAD 34 billion in energy bills between 2026 and 2050. For three years, the emissions of greenhouse gasses reduction will be equal to all of Ontario’s emissions. Approximately 10% of Canada’s overall greenhouse emissions are now attributed to emissions from passenger vehicles. The Canadian Press reports that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act may impose penalties on importers and producers who don’t satisfy the quotas. Those credits will be used by the nation to monitor automobile sales.

Infrastructure upgrades and incentives should both contribute to a rise in EV adoption. There will be 85,000 public chargers built across the country by 2027 thanks to federal funding. Canada has traditionally provided incentives of up to $5,000 for private persons and up to $10,000 for company purchases of new zero-emission vehicles. Several manufacturers have committed to exclusively producing electric cars (EVs) and/or vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. GM, as well as Honda, have set 2035 and 2040 as their targets, respectively, for completing the transition. By 2035, certain nations, including New York, California, and the UK, will no longer sell gas-powered cars.

The mandated sales objectives for zero-emission cars will cut emissions by encouraging more drivers to choose electric vehicles. At the moment, more than 50% of Canadians want an EV to be their next automobile, but there are huge waitlists and a limited supply that is going to provinces with established sales requirements like British Quebec and Columbia.  The federal laws will increase supply across all provinces and territories, reducing wait periods for electric and plug-in hybrid automobiles.

Getting to Zero Coalition initiative

Global trade is fueled by shipping, which is essential for the flow of products throughout the globe. Despite being one of the least polluting modes of transportation, the sector is responsible for 2-3% of the world’s emissions. By the year 2050, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants to cut shipping emissions by 50% compared to 2008 levels. The maritime sector must take the required actions to decrease its carbon footprint and scale up green production, transportation, and commerce as governments and industry actors work to meet ambitious climate goals.

The Getting to Zero Coalition is a forum that brings together roughly 200 stakeholders from the transportation and energy value chains. Following the announcement of a Call to Action in 2018 by a group of 34 important stakeholders committed to decarbonizing shipping, the Global Maritime Forum, the World Economic Forum, and Friends of Ocean Action established the Coalition in 2019.

By 2030, the Coalition hopes to commercialize low-emission ships traveling on deep-sea shipping routes, backed by the infrastructure required for scalable low-carbon energy sources, including those for generation, storage, distribution, and bunkering. The Coalition has increased its intention to completely decarbonize the industry by 2050, following science-based environmental targets, through a 2022 industry-led Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonization and a recent statement at the Getting to Zero Coalition 2022 Working Group Session. Key goals for 2022–2023 include:

• Catalyze industrial activity, including the creation of deep-sea green corridors with the help of Getting to Zero member firms, as well as the creation of projects that connect demand and supply.

• Increase the pace of policy making at the IMO and watch as a revised GHG strategy is adopted with a zero-emission objective for 2050 along with the consensus on the steps required to guarantee a fair and equitable sector transformation.

Conclusion

With the degrading climatic conditions and their adverse effects, various nations globally are moving towards reducing overall emissions and gaining an alternative power transition at the earliest. This is what has propelled the emergence of COP27. The execution of the Paris Agreement is the primary focus of COP27, and there are high hopes for COP26’s results in terms of the completion of the Paris Rulebook, especially concerning the global carbon market. India has committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 and to cut its carbon intensity by 45% by 2030 when compared to 2005 at the COP26 meeting.

India would need USD 160 billion annually to reach the 2030 clean energy objectives, according to projections from the International Energy Agency, while no other country’s energy consumption will rise as much as India’s in the future years. The advantages of advancing zero-emission transportation were stressed at the COP26 summit. Over 100 parties who endorsed the transition signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero-Emission Cars and Vans (ZEVs). The COP26 statement on the quick transition to 100% ZEVs was also signed by India, which was represented by the NITI Aayog initiative. 

To advance low-carbon infrastructures, the NITI Aayog initiative has been collaborating with the UK government on several projects, including charging infrastructure, e-vehicles, and battery storage. India is the fifth-largest as well as fastest-growing automotive market in the world, offering tremendous opportunities for the adoption of electric vehicles. The transition to ZEVs is well underway, bringing down technological prices and lowering our dependency on foreign fuels. However, as public transportation is the most accessible and necessary form of transportation in India, it might have been wise to first concentrate on lowering its carbon footprint in addition to that of automobiles and vans.

Hence, such a transition requires more investment in the country. The main focus of COP27 would be climate finance and particularly how it ought to be distributed, given the amount of money needed and the difficulty in raising money. India has also requested that the USD 100 billion-a-year guarantee of climate assistance for developing nations be reconsidered, even though the deadline has passed. Since the bulk of CO2 emissions is produced in the US and the European region, wealthier nations would be expected to support climate spending and ensure a seamless transition to ZEVs.

Author Bio

Aditi is the Marketing Head at Future Market Insights (FMI), ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting Market Research Company. The award-winning firm is headquartered in Dubai, with offices in the US, UK, and India. The award-winning firm is headquartered in Dubai, with offices in the US, UK, and India. MarketNgage is the Market Research Subscription Platform from FMI that assists stakeholders in obtaining in-depth research across industries, markets, and niche segments. You can connect with Aditi on LinkedIn.