Electric Vehicles in the UAE (Survey Paper)

The number of Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the UAE’s roads is increasing every year. Sustainable transport and EVs are central to tackling several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The adoption of EVs could potentially “increase the share of renewables in the global energy mix indirectly (target 7.2), and contribute to reducing air pollution and related health impacts (target 3.9)” (IISD, 2017). Transportation accounts for around one-fourth of global CO2 emissions, most of which comes from passenger vehicles (Ritchie, 2020). Reducing emissions from transportation can provide health benefits through improving air quality. The UAE government is committed to encouraging more sustainable modes of transport. This is evidenced by investments in public transportation and EV infrastructure across the Emirates. Dubai in particular, aims to ‘become the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050’, in which sustainable transportation will play a big part (DEWA, 2020). One aspect of this is the Dubai Green Mobility Initiative, which aims to increase the government procurement of hybrid vehicles and EVs in Dubai.