Travel to work in Dublin. The potential impacts of electric vehicles on climate change and urban air quality

The Irish government has outlined plans for 10% of the national road fleet to be powered by electricity by 2020. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential reduction in road traffic related emissions due to commuting in the Greater Dublin Area under different electric vehicle market penetration scenarios. The results indicate that the introduction of electric vehicles offers the potential for reductions in all road traffic related emissions. However, the time required for electric vehicles to acquire a significant share of the fleet, suggests that they will have a limited impact on climate change and urban air quality for at least the next decade.

Research highlights
► The paper looks at the environmental gains of introducing a variety of electric vehicle technologies into Dublin.
► The results indicate that the introduction of electric vehicles offers the potential for reductions in all road traffic related emissions.
► Under the most likely ‘low’ market penetration scenario the results indicate a net reduction of 3% in CO2 emissions relative to the business as usual case by 2020.
► The time required for electric vehicles to acquire a significant share of the fleet, suggests that they will have a limited impact on climate change and urban air quality for at least the next decade.