Abstract
Ambient air pollution in India accounts for 870 000 deaths per year, including 43 000 from road transportation. Vehicle electrification could posit a sustainable solution. However, 3/4th of India’s electric grid is powered by coal, emitting large amounts of PM2.5, SO2, and NO x . This leads to uncertainty regarding the health benefits and distributional consequences from vehicle electrification. Our results show that if electric vehicles made up 30% of vehicle kilometers traveled, there would be 1000-2000 additional deaths each year under present day conditions. Higher increases in pollution exposure are seen in scheduled castes/tribes, poor, and rural populations particularly in high coal production states. Switching to net zero-emitting electricity generation for charging would reduce air pollution attributable deaths by 6000-7000 annually and PM2.5 exposure across all groups of population.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 024015 |
Journal | Environmental Research Letters |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- air pollution
- emissions
- environmental justice
- health impacts
- India
- transportation