Abstract
China is implementing intensive policies on electric vehicles to control air pollution in urban regions, especially the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, one of the most polluted areas in China. The development of electric vehicles will lead to an increase in electricity demand. Because electricity is mostly generated by thermal power in China, primary energy consumption will also increase. This study sets two scenarios: with the electric vehicle policies scenario (REN) and without the electric vehicle policies scenario (FOS) to compare electric vehicle policy’s impact. We quantified the health benefits of the electric vehicle policies in the BTH region by using an integrated assessment framework. Compared with scenario FOS, the local PM2.5 emission will reduce by 11.38%, 15.12%, 22.27%, and the concentration will reduce by 18.84%, 20.04%, and 19.57% in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei separately by 2030 in REN. The electric vehicle policies can avoid 23.5 million morbidities and 4.6 thousand mortalities and save CNY 20.65 billion using the value of statistical life and 1.5 million work loss days in 2030 in REN. Our results show that electric vehicle policy can bring a remarkably positive benefit to public health and the economy.
Highlights
The results show that electric vehicle policies can bring significant benefits to the environment and public health
Improving air quality is an urgent requirement in the BTH region of China
This study uses empirical data and policies to assess whether the existing electric vehicle policies have significant health benefits in the BTH region
Summary
About 90% of the population in the world are breathing polluted air every day [1]. Particles with a 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5 ) are the primary air pollutant in China. The concentration of PM2.5 in most cities in China exceeds the recommended value of the WHO air quality guidelines by more than four times [1]. There is still a long way to go for China to reach the WHO recommendation of less than 10 μg/m3. Transportation has become the main source of air pollution in cities. China has been the largest automobile sales country in the world for more than ten consecutive years. The development potential of the automobile market in China is still huge. Under China’s per capita income level in 2016, the number of car ownership per 1000 people was 130, while the number was 645 in the US (World Bank database, https://data.worldbank.org.cn/)
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