Understanding sociotechnical barriers to sustainable mobility – insights from Demonstration Program of EVs in China

PROBLEMY EKOROZWOJU – PROBLEMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2014, vol. 9, no 1, 29-36 Understanding socio-technical barriers to sustainable mobility – insights from Demonstration Program of EVs in China Społeczne i techniczne bariery dla zrównoważonego transport – wdrażanie programu promującego samochody elektryczne w Chinach Yixi Xue*, Jianxin You, Luning Shao School of Economics &Management, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China E-mails: *; ;  Abstract It is widely accepted that EV (electric vehicles) is one of the several green technologies to address environmental issues associated with the transport sector and promote the transition to sustainable mobility. In spite of this, a number of barriers still need to be overcome before EVs achieve widespread market penetration. This paper is a contribution to understanding the key tools and strategies that might support the take-up of EVs by adopting a social-technical approach to explore the main barriers encountered in the Chinese EV Demonstration Program. The key findings of the research are that interest conflict between different stakeholders and the inaction of related actors are the key barriers inhibiting the further development of EVs. So the policies that put much pressure on the current auto regime are necessary. Key words: electric vehicles, social-technical approach, barriers Streszczenie Nie budzi wątpliwości, że samochody elektryczne należą do grupy zielonych technologii stanowiących alternatywę w kontekście kwestii środowiskowych związanych z sektorem transportowym, wspierając przejście do zrównoważonej mobilności. Istnieje jednak wiele barier na drodze do rzeczywistego upowszechnienia się takich samochodów. Niniejszy artykuł wskazuje na kluczowe narzędzia i strategie, zakładające przyjęcie podejścia społecznotechnicznego, które pozwalają na wskazanie głównych barier w rozwoju samochodów elektrycznych na przykładzie Chin. Okazuje się, konflikt interesów pomiędzy interesariuszami i bierność stanowią główne wyzwania. Wprowadzenie polityki, która zdecydowanie skuteczniej niż teraz wywierałaby presję na tradycyjny rynek samochodowy to konieczność. Słowa kluczowe: samochody elektryczne, podejście społeczno-techniczne, bariery 1. Introduction Today, we face fundamental wicked problems in several domains such as depletion of natural resources, air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, etc. (Shan at al., 2012). Most countries in the world have taken attempts to make development more sustainable in order to address these persistent problems. It seems that sustainability involve so many aspects of our civilization that sustainable de- velopment has become an inherent societal characteristic and nowadays period can be named as a sustainable development revolution (Pawłowski, 2003, 2009). Actually, most of unsustainable problems are due to the extensive use of fossil energy (Pawłowski, 2011, 2010). Transport sector, heavily dependent on oil consumption and responsible for 22% of global CO2 emissions (IEA, 2012), has been worldwide accepted as a priority area in sustainability discussion. Given Xue et al./Problemy Ekorozwoju/Problems of Sustainable Development 1/2014, 29-36 30 that most of the problems are related to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), the question whether the existing transport system can be transformed into something more sustainable, therefore, has great relevance with vehicle use. However, lowering CO2 emissions by controlling the volume of transport seems to be unlikely (International Transport Forum, 2010), so electric vehicles (EVs) as a promising green technology are increasingly favored by policy-makers (Yeh, 2007). EV achieving widespread diffusion has never been an easy thing and they have failed to compete with ICEVs over the last century. Previous research mainly argues that battery technology limitations and high battery cost are the major obstacles to the development of EVs (Egbue at al., 2012). However, we find that this view does not reveal key areas of resistance to EVs. Actually, mobility is a complex and adaptive system. To achieve sustainability requires a more systemic thinking. More specific, influencing technological change toward a sustainable direction (EVs) not only involves technical change but also changes in for example fuel infrastructures and policies (Geels, 2002). The socio-technical approach conceptualizes road transport systems as a socio-technical system, which is defined as a configuration of a set of elements including technology, policy, markets, consumer practices, infrastructure, etc. necessary to fulfill societal functions, and highlights co-evolution and interactions between these elements, as shown in Figure 1 (Geels, 2004). Once the socio-technical system consistent with ICEV technology is established, it is stable and hard to transform. This stability and lock-in is mainly due to the interrelation and complementarity between the elements. The elements depend on each other to fulfill their functions. In addition, some elements, such as plants and fuel infrastructure, have a certain hardness, making them difficult to change. Once made, they are not easily abandoned and changed. Moreover, vested interests of the current automobile regime are resistant to major change, which is another important source of inertia. Production and Industry Structure Market and User Practices Maintenance and Distribution Network Regulations and Policies Fuel Infrastructure Vehicle Social-technical Configuration of Road Transport Techology and Scientific Knowledge Road Infrastructure Finance and Insurance Figure 1. Transport. Culture and Symbolic Meanning Socio-technical Configuration of Road This system stability is a powerful obstacle for the widespread diffusion of EVs. However, technologists and policymakers usually separate technical concerns from social concerns while describing EV development. Indeed, the social barriers many pose as much of a problem as the technical (Egbue at al., 2012). So it is necessary to adopt the socio-technical approach to identify the barriers in the development of EVs. In this research, we take the Chinese EV demonstration program as a case to determine potential socio-technical obstacles to EV adoption. Insights gained from the results of this research will shed more light on policy-making. 2. Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program in China 2.1 Background of EV Development in China China, one of the fastest growing economies, has witnessed an accelerating growth of the automobile industry in recent years. By 2012, the total vehicle population in China had reached 120 million (Xinhuanet, 2013), which in turn result in huge oil demand. The annul fuel consumption by road transport now accounts for approximately 60% of China’s domestic oil consumption (Xue at al., 2013). On the contrary, China’s domestic oil production capacity is limited. The amount and dependence of and on import oil has contin (...truncated)