Green growth: a game changer ushering in the death of the internal combustion engine?

摘要

The global movement promoting green growth transition is growing into one huge multi-dimensional game changer and evidence pointing to the death of the internal combustion engine (ICE) is growing. Green growth rests upon the need to convert economies from being resource-intensive to being low carbon and resource-efficient aimed at addressing, among key challenges, ecosystems decay, biodiversity loss, climate change, water stress, and energy security. To this end, the use of renewable energy as well as clean and energy efficient technologies is now inevitable. Among such clean and energy efficient technologies today are electric vehicles, especially battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Could green growth transition be a game changer offering multiple tipping points against the ICE? This is a question the paper addresses. The paper presents arguments that contribute to current global debates regarding the role of renewable energy as well as clean and energy efficient technology in green growth, especially in the transport sector. The paper conclusion is that, yes, if there is global scaling up, green growth signals the inevitable death of the ICE in the not so distant future.