Driving towards the low-emission society

This project’s aim is to obtain accurate and reliable knowledge on the effects of existing and potential future policies to support the transition to zero- and low-emission automobiles in Norway. Effects will be assessed in terms of how many cars households choose to own, by type of car (electric vs. petrol or diesel driven), and on how much the cars are used, in addition to assessing environmental outcomes, such as global and local emissions, energy demand, and distributional effects across society. The analysis will be based on a novel database assembled from administrative registers encompassing the entire Norwegian population, combining disaggregate information on passenger cars with detailed information about their owners.

The research project aims at answering research questions related to how policy can help transforming the passenger transport sector from relying primarily on vehicles with internal combustion engines to an energy technology system for passenger transport based largely on battery and fuel cell electric vehicles, possibly supplemented by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or other ultra-low emission propulsion technologies.

The project will benefit from an active stakeholder group consisting of private sector organisations, non-profit interest organisations and public institutions.