The Allure of Technology: How France and California Promoted Electric Vehicles to Reduce Urban Air Pollution

50 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2005

See all articles by David Calef

David Calef

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Robert Goble

Clark University

Date Written: January 2005

Abstract

All advanced industrialized societies face the problem of air pollution produced by motor vehicles. In spite of striking improvements in internal combustion engine technology, air pollution in most urban areas is still measured at levels determined to be harmful to human health. Throughout the 1990s and beyond, California and France both chose to improve air quality by means of technological innovation, adopting legislation that promoted clean vehicles, prominently among them, electric vehicles (EVs). In California, policymakers chose a technology-forcing approach, setting ambitious goals (e.g., zero emission vehicles), establishing strict deadlines and issuing penalties for non-compliance. The policy process in California called for substantial participation from the public, the media, the academic community and the interest groups affected by the regulation. The automobile and oil industries bitterly contested the regulation, in public and in the courts. In contrast, in France the policy process was non-adversarial, with minimal public participation and negligible debate in academic circles. We argue that California's stringent regulation spurred the development of innovative hybrid and fuel cell vehicles more effectively than the French approach. However, in spite of the differences, both California and France have been unable to put a substantial number of EVs on the road. Our comparison offers some broad lessons about how policy developments within a culture influence both the development of technology and the impact of humans on the environment.

Keywords: Environmental policy, Electric vehicles, Air pollution, Technology policy, Sustainable transport

JEL Classification: O33, O57, Q53, K32, L5

Suggested Citation

Calef, David and Goble, Robert, The Allure of Technology: How France and California Promoted Electric Vehicles to Reduce Urban Air Pollution (January 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=650041 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.650041

David Calef (Contact Author)

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei ( email )

Corso Magenta 63
20123 Milan
Italy
+390252036934 (Phone)
+390252036946 (Fax)

Robert Goble

Clark University ( email )

950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
United States

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