When could peak oil demand be reached? Not as soon as it seems, even with the latest automotive news out of Europe, write Amy Myers Jaffe and Lewis Fulton of the University of California, Davis. Article courtesy The Conversation. (This is the third article in a short three-part series on the latest developments in EVs.)
First, Volvo announced it would begin to phase out the production of cars that run solely on gasoline or diesel by 2019 by only releasing new models that are electric or plug-in hybrids. Then, France and the U.K. declared they would ban sales of gas and diesel-powered cars by 2040. Underscoring this trend is data from Norway, as electric models amounted to 42 percent of Norwegian new car sales in June.
Reaching a peak in oil demand by 2040 would require more than widespread conversion to electric-powered cars
European demand for oil to propel its passenger vehicles has been falling for years. Many experts expect a sharper decline in the years ahead as the shift toward electric vehicles spreads across the world. And that raises questions about whether surging electric vehicle sales will ultimately cause the global oil market, which has grown on average by 1 to 2 percent a year for decades and now totals 96 million barrels per day, to decline after hitting a ceiling.
Energy experts call this concept “peak oil demand.” We are debating when and if this will occur.
A forecast with caveats
The International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents 29 oil-importing industrial countries, produces bellwether forecasts that foresee electric cars phasing in slowly. Its baseline projection envisions 150 million electric vehicles on the world’s roads by 2030, or about 10 percent of all passenger vehicles at that point. In comparison, only two million electric vehicles are operating today – 0.2 percent of the 1.2 billion on the road. The IEA estimates this shift will save nearly two million barrels per day of oil, relative to its business-as-usual projection of the world using at least 70 million barrels of oil per day for transportation by 2040. That consumption level would mark a 30 percent increase from roughly 54 million barrels now.
If electric vehicles sales grow faster than the IEA expects, that projection might miss the mark. Should that happen, would global oil demand flatten or decline?
Our research at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis shows that encouraging electric vehicle purchases is just one way policymakers can help phase out oil consumption – one key to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that stoke climate change and health-threatening pollution.
Given the dominance of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles, which include cars, SUVs and light trucks, replacing them all with electric models will take decades. Automobiles are durable goods that typically remain on the road for 10 to 15 years. Not all drivers will buy a new car, let alone an electric one, soon.
There is no guarantee that more ride-sharing means we’ll burn less oil
In other words, even if (hypothetically) all new car sales were to instantly turn electric, it would likely be sometime after 2030 before gasoline cars would disappear. Besides, passenger vehicles consume only about 26 percent of the oil used worldwide. Given these stubborn realities and the fact that electric vehicles still represent a tiny portion of new-car sales, reaching a peak in oil demand by 2040 would require more than widespread conversion to electric-powered cars.
But together with other trends taking shape, electric vehicle growth could potentially revolutionize transportation enough for oil consumption to stop growing within this time frame.
Ride-sharing and oil
Even if all of Europe mandated that only plug-in vehicles could be sold, starting in 2030, and China followed suit by 2035, that wouldn’t bring about peak oil demand by 2040. According to our research, global oil consumption would keep growing until as late as 2050, in part because so many cars and trucks running on gasoline and diesel – especially in developing countries – will remain in use.
To see if oil demand could still peak by the middle of this century, if not sooner, we recently began preliminary research modeling the effect of urban sustainability policies on oil demand in the future. This is an important area of analysis since U.S. mayors and municipal leaders from around the world reaffirmed their commitment to climate-change action after President Donald Trump decided to back out of the Paris climate accord.
Using a set of scenarios regarding potential technological and policy interventions in work we will publish soon, we modeled different future oil market demand conditions. We focused on four major trend lines: vehicle electrification, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, more sustainable freight that runs on alternative fuels or reduces vehicle miles traveled through computer-assisted optimization, and urban car-free zones.
We found that making more car-free pedestrian areas in big cities would make a huge dent in global oil demand. This practice – already common in cities like Copenhagen and Madrid in Europe and Chendu, China – could make oil demand max out by 2030, as long as enough governments aggressively encouraged drivers to switch to electric cars and mandated more fuel efficiency for road-based freight.
Overall, we believe there is a reasonable chance global oil consumption will peak by 2040
Trucks don’t last as long as cars, and many countries are considering policies to encourage the use of natural gas, hydrogen or electric vehicles for heavy-duty trucking.
Commercial ride-sharing might also pare oil demand by reducing the number of miles driven overall if it encourages carpooling. This industry could, in addition, hasten the shift to electric vehicle dominance if – as widely reported – it begins to rely on a fleet of autonomous (driverless) vehicles, which would predominantly be electric.
But ride-sharing could fail to reduce fuel demand in the short term if people wind up taking more trips and traveling more miles in passenger cars and relying less on the bus, transit or city train than they used to. Some research suggests that could be happening. For example, scholars at University of California, Berkeley found that a third of the riders they surveyed in San Francisco used these services instead of public transportation – not to replace trips in taxis or their own cars.
In short, there is no guarantee that more ride-sharing means we’ll burn less oil.
What cities can do
In another study, our team at UC Davis teamed up with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, an independent global nonprofit, and modeled three urban transportation policy scenarios. We found that global new vehicle sales in 2040 will total between 600 million, if ride-sharing and transit flourish, and 2.1 billion vehicles, should the ride-sharing industry stall – a huge difference.
Metropolitan policymakers can use other tools. Creating car-free zones, making parking expensive and levying congestion taxes and road usage fees are some examples.
Goldman Sachs says  (…) global oil demand could max out by 2030
Overall, we believe there is a reasonable chance global oil consumption will peak by 2040. Especially given the growing preference of city dwellers to live in places with less congestion and pollution, a shift away from cars with internal combustion engines – and from cars in general – looks not only likely but inevitable. It also seems fairly likely that any company betting on the continued growth of oil sales will be disappointed.
Goldman Sachs says the world could pass this milestone sooner. Researchers at the U.S. investment powerhouse predict that with widespread reliance on electric cars, slower economic growth and a decline in (largely petrochemical-based) plastic production, global oil demand could max out by 2030.
However long it takes, shifting to electric vehicles might not make oil demand level off or decline on its own. But plug-in vehicles, combined with other policies, trends and technologies, will clearly take a toll.
Editor’s Note
Amy Myers Jaffe is a leading expert on global energy policy, geopolitical risk, and energy and sustainability. Jaffe serves as executive director for Energy and Sustainability at University of California, Davis and Senior Advisor on energy and sustainability at the Office of the Chief Investment Officer, University of California Regents. She is also a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.Â
Lewis Fulton has worked internationally in the field of transport/energy/environment analysis and policy development for over 20 years. He is Co-Director of the STEPS Program within the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.
This article was first published on The Conversation and is republished here under The Conversation’s Creative Common licence.
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S. Herb says
I am most interested here by the claim that ” making more car-free pedestrian areas in big cities would make a huge dent in global oil demand. ” This seems worth following up.
Are Hansen says
“Besides, passenger vehicles consume only about 26 percent of the oil used worldwide”
If world oil consumption fell by 26% that would be more than enough to bankrupt several oil companies, and badly hurt nations dependent on oil exports (Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, to a smaller extent Norway)
Bob Wallace says
“According to our research, global oil consumption would keep growing until as late as 2050, in part because so many cars and trucks running on gasoline and diesel – especially in developing countries – will remain in use.”
I’m not sure you factored in the cost of driving. Those vehicles which drive the most miles are likely to switch to EVs early in order to cut operating costs.
Consider Tesla’s upcoming battery powered “18-wheeler”. Trucks that drive a lot are going to save a lot. Trucking companies will quickly switch to battery powered trucks if they otherwise meet their needs. Diesel powered tractors will be sold off to companies that do short route work and tractors that are starting to need more maintenance will be scrapped. (Self-driving trucks will drive the switch much, much faster if they appear.)
Cities are switching to battery powered buses and other vehicles not only for savings but as a way to help clean up city air. We may soon see cities that don’t allow diesel powered vehicles to enter and that will mean distribution companies rapidly switching to battery power. Operating cost savings will take away much of the resistance.
In the US about 50% of all driving is done with cars that are 5 year old or less. People who drive more than average are likely to make the switch to EVs early. This means that one has to weigh new cars more heavily and not just average in all cars the same.
Most developing countries have to import fuel. They don’t have to import sunshine and wind. Look for well used EVs commanding a premium price over used ICEVs in developing countries. Look for some developing countries (India, for example) to develop a much less expensive EV alternative.
During times of rapid transition it’s not a great idea to make predictions by putting a ruler on history and drawing a straight line into the future. One needs to include the disruptive forces as well.
We’ve seen the EIA and IEA make terrible predictions by not observing changes that were clearly underway.
And almost no one factors in increased public pressure to do something about climate change. As the planet continues to warm extreme weather events will happen more often and sea levels will rise. People are reacting to that now and almost certainly will ramp up their concern and call for action as we go forward.