Study finds that social justice and health issues impact electric vehicle uptake

A caller survey led by the University of Cambridge and based connected nationalist attitudes expressed successful 36,000 Facebook posts, has recovered that user uptake of electrical vehicles (EVs) tin beryllium boosted by promoting the societal justness and wellness aspects of the technology.

The researchers recovered that effectual connection of societal and wellness benefits of EV ownership tin beryllium a motivating origin for influencing higher EV uptake.

The study, published successful the diary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, analyzed Facebook postings successful the United States related to EVs, utilizing instrumentality learning based connected a PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) model that examines the intersection of assorted words and phrases.

"Social media offers a treasure trove of accusation to amended recognize however the nationalist views the vigor modulation from carbon-emitting interior combustion motor to EVs," said survey co-author David Reiner from Cambridge Judge Business School.

Reiner and his collaborators utilized instrumentality learning and societal web investigation to place via Facebook posts what aspects radical valued successful electrical vehicles, and recovered that societal justice, cleanable air, amended wellness and a displacement toward EVs becoming a work manufacture emerged arsenic cardinal themes.

The societal justness taxable was rather pervasive successful the researchers' findings. One important sermon that shaped EVs' societal justness and payment dimensions was centered astir the thought that 'We each tin payment from much electrical vehicles', arsenic this links to biology benefits similar cleaner air, little pollution, clime alteration mitigation, and amended wellness for all. There was besides wide statement connected the request for authorities enactment to marque EVs much affordable.

"While governments astir the satellite person launched assertive targets for EVs, progressively done regulatory measures alternatively than nonstop subsidies, determination has been small world probe into the drivers of EV adoption," said Reiner. "This caller survey helps capable that cognition gap, and tin beryllium a utile instrumentality for vigor policymaking successful this captious area."

Breaking down the PESTLE framework, the survey recovered that Facebook posts relating to Political aspects were astir related to EV taxation and subsidies; posts connected the Economy focused connected user fees and EV marketplace expansion; the Social magnitude centered connected occupation creation, concern and cleanable air; Technology posts centered astir charging and batteries; portion Legal and Environmental posts looked mostly astatine clime alteration and EV-related sustainability discussion.

The 36,000 Facebook nationalist posts connected EVs that were analyzed, each posted successful 2020, generated a substance corpus of 600,000 words oregon presumption that formed the information for the study's taxable modeling.

As car manufacturers see the imaginable for EVs arsenic a subscription-based service, the survey besides underlines the value of knowing however EVs are present being adopted astatine a assemblage level arsenic this volition power the aboriginal plan of subscription-based and shared ownership schemes.

EV income exceeded 2.1 cardinal globally successful 2019, with 90% of income successful China, Europe and the U.S., the survey observes, with income of all-electric light-duty vehicles successful the U.S. increasing from zero successful 2010 to 242,000 successful 2019.

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More information: Ramit Debnath et al, Political, economic, social, technological, ineligible and biology dimensions of electrical conveyance adoption successful the United States: A social-media enactment analysis, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111707