In the course of the Better Air Quality (BAQ) conference held between 5 and 7 December 2012 in Hong Kong, the project Electro-Mobility and Climate Protection of GIZ in China organised a breakout session on ‘Electro-Mobility and New Energy’. The BAQ is an established high-calibre conference with a special focus on air pollution measurement and mitigation techniques, transport-related environmental issues, and the impact of new mobility trends and technologies on the environment. Held at the Polytechnic University campus ion Hong Kong, the conference was attended by over 700 experts, practitioners, and scholars from all over the world.
The breakout session featured a number of international experts on Chinese electro-mobility, its climate and environmental implications as well as approaches to integrating electric vehicles in sustainable urban transport. The experts included:
- Professor Wu Ye of Tsinghua University, who presented the environmental and climate impact of electric vehicles in China, including life-cycle analyses and upstream emissions associated to EV charging.
- Vice President of the China Automobile Technology and Research Centre (CATARC) Dr Wu Zhixin, who presented the status quo, challenges and opportunities as well as future trends of the Chinese EV market, outlining the importance of EVs for China’s automobile market, especially with regard to the anticipated reduction in total oil consumption in the transport sector as well as reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants.
- Professor Chris Cherry of the University of Tennessee, who presented the environmental impact of e-bikes in China and examined electric vehicles with regard to their role in sustainable urban transport.
- Christian Hochfeld, director of the sustainable transport sector at GIZ in China. Mr Hochfeld presented the Sino-German cooperation activities in the area of electro-mobility, particularly in the project “Electro-Mobility and Climate Protection’. He stressed the necessary prerequisites that need to be met in order to render electric vehicles environmentally sound, i.e. renewable energy for EV charging, a holistic approach to EV recycling and the integration of EVs in sustainable urban transport modes.
- Mr Ernest Y. F. Lee of the Electrical and Mechanical Service Department (EMSD) of Hong Kong, who presented the current state and future plans of the deployment of electric vehicles and their charging infrastructure in Hong Kong.
