The Problem of sustainable legal regulation of electric vehicle infrastructure
ENEuropean transport policy faces many sustainability challenges in order to achieve the European Union’s climate goals. The European Commission is constantly improving directives on reducing air pollution. Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure determines that, based on the consultation of stakeholders and national experts, electricity and hydrogen were identified as the current principal alternative fuels with the potential for long-term oil substitution (The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union 2014). In 2016, The European Commission published a communication on “A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility.” This communication indicates that the best prospect for reducing transport pollutant emissions is the use of electric cars (e-mobility). The strategy supporting the process of decarbonization sets out market rules that should contribute to the integration of electric vehicles and publicly accessible and private recharging points in the electricity grids. Therefore, the Communication states that a “Large part of alternative fuels (including electricity) requires specific infrastructures. Member States will design policy frameworks for rolling-out publicly available electric recharging points” (European Commission 2016). However, the use of electric vehicles still poses a number of challenges. These include limited range, long charging times, high cost of electricity (Saleeb et al. 2018), expensive energy storage, and the underdeveloped infrastructure of charging points (Andwari et al. 2017). There are also security issues of use (Barelli et al. 2021). Electric cars are considered to be one of the most eco-friendly vehicle types, with little or no use of fossil fuels and relatively low running costs as they have fewer components that require maintenance.However, the development trends of electric cars cannot be assessed unambiguously. The technical and legal regulation of infrastructure adaptation is required. A weak point from the point of view of environmental protection is the production and disposal of electric car batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are considered the standard for modern electric vehicle batteries and are considered more durable and energy efficient. These batteries still face difficulties due to the risk of fire or explosion and the lack of production resources, and may have negative effects on public safety and health and the environment in the future (Vaccari et. al. 2019). To date, there is no universally accepted legal regulation of proper reuse and recycling. The European Parliament welcomes the upcoming strategy for sustainable and smart mobility; all modes of transport will have to contribute to the decarbonization of the transport sector in line with the objective of reaching a climate-neutral economy (The European Parliament 2020). [Extract, p. 381-382]
