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The economic growth has brought advantages to social life and given people better living standards.
However, the thousand years has witnessed the overexploitation of natural resources, breakdown of
ecological system’s balance, population growth that cause economic development not to be in line with
other factors of the environment. A paradoxical issue was mentioned in the close relationship of the
economy, the population and the environment. When the economic growth continues to go up, the
explosion of population is in an uncontrollable status and environmental deterioration is an alarming
issue. The consequences of using non-renewable energy in traditional industries as well as in daily life has
led to natural disasters, environment degradation, acid rain and other damages that people currently have
to cope with and overcome. Therefore, awareness of sustainable development and environmental
sustainability was raised in concerns of securing human beings’ future development. Countries all over
the world considered sustainability as a guideline for their activities in the process of socio-economic
development. After experiencing three industrial revolutions, the world economy achieved many
remarkable results and altered the society rapidly. Nevertheless, these achievements also have changed
the nature of the environment, triggered catastrophic consequences, and threatened people’s life. As a
result, the fourth industrial revolution with technology innovation is expected to be a critical tool for
people to alleviate adverse effects on the environment and generate eco-friendly inventions to ensure
the existence of the Earth and the development of future generations. One of the popular inventions
currently is electric vehicles which can be seen an essential product in later run. It not only does not
consume fossil fuels but also does not emit any emission into the environment. Nowadays many countries’
governments support and facilitate the use of electric vehicles for people’s daily life. However, in spite of
enormous benefits of this transport, this is still a controversial problem due to its drawbacks. The report
will discuss aspects of electric vehicles in the situation of economic growth and sustainable development
trends.
Contents
I. Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 1
II. Overall economic growth ......................................................................................................................... 2
III. Sustainability ........................................................................................................................................... 2
IV. Electric vehicles ....................................................................................................................................... 4
V. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 5
I. Introduction
Over the past few centuries, the economic growth has always been accompanied by the explosion of the
world’s population and the overexploitation of natural resources. The traditional economy, where
industries using fossil fuels were dominant, is being gradually replaced by the knowledge-based economy
where people have applied technology insights to boost the economy with the advent of artificial
intelligence (AI), financial technology (fintech), industry 4.0 and so on. The rapid development of
technology has driven the economy in a more environmentally friendly manner; however, the fact
remains that human beings are facing environmental consequences that the traditional economy and
population growth brought such as global climate changes, greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, to name
but a few. As a result, it is people’s responsibility to find potential solutions to overcome environmental
damage and recover it, which costs much time, money and requires high-tech equipment. People also are
aware of sustainable development and environmental sustainability in order to protect and secure human
beings’ future. Admittedly, people have taken many steps together to solve this urgent problem. And one
of them, which is quite popular today, is electric vehicles. This invention may change mankind’s future in
a better way, which facilitate people to reduce fossil-fuel consumption as well as reduce emissions to the
environment, so that ensure the sustainable development.
III. Sustainability
Emergence of industrial society especially the first industrial revolution experienced the vast growth of
the energy in fossil fuels. From 1650 to 1850 the global population increased about 500 million to 1 billion
people (Goudie, 2013). The second industrial revolution by the 20th century led to an exponential increase
in natural resource consumption, resulting in the upsurge of the economy and the population. The
economists started their research on non-renewable resource management (Hotelling, 1931). Until the
late 20th century, environmental problem became an emerging issue worldwide (H. et al., 2002). Trade-
off between the environment and the economy gave rise to the definitions of environmental sustainability
and sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development came from the report “Our
Common Future”, known as the Brundtland Report of the United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development in 1987. The concept firstly was derived from environmental concerns
then developed to concentrate on economic growth, social development, and environmental protection
for future generations. It is worth noting that people have depended on the nature over the thousand
years and many factors of the nature has been disappeared permanently. Natural disasters are a warning
for humankind about environmental sustainability which is the maintenance of the components and
practices that contribute to the quality of environment on the long-term manner. Furthermore,
environmental sustainability is a fundamental factor that ensures the needs of today’s population are met
without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs, which is sustainable
development (UN. General Assembly (42nd sess. : 1987-1988), 1987). In other words, meeting the needs
of future generations always depends significantly on how the current generation balances social,
economic and environment goals; thus, this is a global priority (International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), & World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 1980).
The Brundtland Report also outlined the goals and action plan Agenda 21 for sustainable development.
Governments have come up with many solutions for sustainable development in order to facilitate
economic growth in tune with environmental sustainability and social integration. One of the most
effective solutions for the triangle relationship among the economy, the environment and the society is
technical innovation. The rapid development of technology has been considered Earth’s savior. Recently
people are following “economic decoupling” which refers to the ability of an economy to grow without
corresponding increases in environmental pressure. Besides, over the last few years the concept of a
circular economy was born and is attracting attention worldwide. It mentions the way to overcome the
current production and consumption, which is based on continuous growth and increasing consumption.
This concept’s approach is to minimize industrial waste and increase the resource use (Werthmann, n.d.).
As a result, circular economy could pave the way to achieve the balance between the three pillars of
sustainability: economy, environment, society (United Nations General Assembly, 2005). And technology
is the priority and springboard to be exploited for the purpose of economic decoupling or circular
economy. Now people all over the world enter Industry 4.0, in which computers and automation will come
together in manufacturing technologies that people have called “smart factory” (Burritt, 2016). The
traditional industry is one of the main reasons that causes increasingly environmental pollution and
shrinking resources, and in return scarce resources and risks in resource supply put the pressure of
environmental protection regulations set by governments and challenges of resource price volatility on
the industry. The development towards Industry 4.0 is expected to open immense opportunities for the
sustainable, eco-friendly and resource saving manufacturing in short term, medium term and long term
thanks to the application of energy saving technology and environmentally friendly materials (Burritt,
2016). Environment monitoring technology is rapidly evolving due to the supports of Internet of things,
which helps to collect and process continuously real-time information as well as provides early warning
of natural catastrophe (Burritt, 2016). Currently, in order to secure the future development of human
beings, people have conducted a wide range of campaigns at schools or working offices in relations to
green economy which have educated people in environmental protection and sustainable development.
Governments in many countries performs policies to balance the economic growth and the environmental
maintenance. Furthermore, an abundant number of eco-friendly inventions have been introduced widely
and some of them are allowed to use in daily life by governments. The most effective and popular
invention that has been change people’s life much is electric vehicles.
Until the 21st century when the concept of sustainable development became more popular because of
energy crisis and people tended to minimize the use of non-renewable energy, electric vehicles
experienced a resurgence because of technology developments and people’s concentration on alternative
energy (Vidal-Amaro & Sheinbaum-Pardo, 2017). In 2000s electric car marked a turning point when it was
used in highway with the speed of 320 km per charge. The fact remains hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles
consume an enormous amount of fossil fuels and simultaneously emit an equal amount of emissions.
Meanwhile, electric vehicles are considered a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly transportation and supported
by many governments all over the world. Electric vehicles differ from other hydrocarbon-based vehicles
since the electricity they consume can be generated from a wide range of sources, such as fossil fuels,
nuclear power, solar power, wind power, and even any combination of those powers (Vidal-Amaro &
Sheinbaum-Pardo, 2017). The blossom of electrical cars has been recorded when Nissan Leaf had 300,000
cars sold globally (“Nissan delivers 300 , 000th Nissan LEAF,” 2018) and Tesla Model with over 200,000
cars as of January 2018 (Jeff, 2018). 45 lines of highway-capable electric cars were available in various
countries as of March 2018. Sales of electrical cars are estimated to account for almost a third of new car
sales by 2031 (Randall, 2017). This assures that the role of electric vehicles is undeniable in the future
development of human beings. But the popular use will vary in many countries with different levels of
development.
The use of electric vehicles also bring many arguments with different ideas. On the one hand, fossil fuels
have put strains on the environment then alternative energy-powered means of transportation are seen
to be better for human beings’ ecological system (Vidal-Amaro & Sheinbaum-Pardo, 2017). Hybrid-electric
vehicles emit zero exhaust emissions meanwhile the gasoline-based is one of the main contributors to
greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, and air pollution. The finite natural resources result in increase in the
price of petroleum or gasoline, leading the associated costs to go up and up (Asafu-Adjaye, 2000). Besides,
subways can help people to shorten commute time with speed of over hundred kilometers per hour. An
economic problem for individuals and business is posed whether they select electric vehicles using
available solar energy or wind energy with low costs and save more money and time or not. Furthermore,
a current emerging issue is noise pollution that partially comes from engines of buses, cars, and
motorbikes. By contrast, electric vehicles run and operate quietly and do not cause big noises. In some
developed countries, governments give tax credits to people who use zero-emissions cars because their
contribution to lessen negative impacts on the environment.
Notwithstanding, every issue has two sides and people also have raised concerns when it comes to electric
vehicles. It is admitted that the initial investment for electrical cars could cost much and it is not affordable
for many citizens in developing countries. In fact, in those countries electric bikes or motorbikes have
appeared over past few years due to their cheap prices and are used mainly by students. Electrical cars
have not been allowed to use because the transport infrastructure has not been developed and
convenient for the charging station on the road. Additionally, governments have not issued any
regulations in terms of electric vehicles for their management. Affordable electric car models vary from
$30,000 to $40,000 while luxury models start from $80,000 and more. Consumers in developing countries
may not be willing to spend much money on those. Furthermore, meanwhile conventional vehicles only
take few minutes in gas station to fill up, the electric means take many hours to reach full charge that can
range from 4 hours to 20 hours. Despite the long recharging time, most electrical cars have short ranges
and people suppose the use of those vehicles may waste much time. Currently, electric vehicles have been
in re-introduction stage and the limit of models does not attract more people than hydrocarbon-based
vehicles.
V. Conclusion
In recent years, people have completely recognised the importance of the environment for socio-
economic development. The fact remains that the expenses of sustaining and recovering the environment
are far more costly than they can generate by exploiting natural resources, even there is no way to save
the Earth if the overexploitation continues to be conducted. Therefore, sustainable development has
always been the guideline for all activities of development. It is undeniable that currently people have
tried to generate a green economy at any cost through education, campaign, invention, and so on in order
to reduce negative impacts on nature’s mother. Industry 4.0 is a big step in assisting humankind to reach
the goals of sustainable development. Inventions such as electric vehicles is not only a short-term product
but also a long-term security for people and environment.
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Appendix