On 17 May 2024, the E-Mobility Support and Investment Platform for Asia and the Pacific arranged a half-day session at ADB’s Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum in Manila to discuss the acceleration of e-mobility ambition in the region. The session gathered 77 participants from a wide range of countries and organizations.
The session covered the status of e-mobility markets in the region, emerging technologies, and policies needed for expansion. Social aspects of ramping up e-mobility were discussed through the introduction of the framework of Just Transition, and lessons from ongoing and GEF-financed projects were shared to boost e-mobility ambition.
One of the key messages from the event was the importance of learning across countries in the region and beyond. Also, collaboration between a diverse range of stakeholders within countries, including civil society and the private sector, was considered beneficial for national e-mobility acceleration. More support will be needed for the transportation modes that are harder to electrify, including trucks, inter-urban buses, and ferries, as their electrification is generally not considered commercially viable. Electrification of transport will have an impact on jobs in the region, and for ensuring that negative impacts are minimized, governments can create longer-term just transition plans. It is also key to empower vulnerable groups, assure fairness of value chain systems, and ensure all stakeholders are on-board in policy development.
A panel discussion was attended by countries with GEF-7 supported projects on e-mobility (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines). As key concerns, they raised the affordability of EVs, access to finance, a lack of regulated secondhand markets, challenges rolling out EV charging infrastructure, sustainable battery management, and social resistance and misconceptions. On the other hand, the development of supportive policy landscapes, public-private collaboration for EV charging installation, and partnerships and collaborations for fostering a whole-of-society approach in the development of an e-mobility industry were considered as opportunities in these countries.
