ABB集团首席执行官史毕福博士近日外电发文指出，在德国波恩举行的《联合国气候变化框架公约》第二十三届缔约方大会（COP 23）为政策制定者们提供了一个很好的机会，倡议通过普及电动汽车，加快实现可持续交通。

Policymakers meeting in Bonn, Germany for the COP 23 climate conference have an excellent opportunity to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport via electric vehicles, writes Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB.

中国最近成为了世界上第五个宣布将逐步淘汰化石燃料汽车的国家。同已经发声的英国、法国、挪威和印度等四国一样，中国将通过此举推动国际社会实现《巴黎气候协定》提出的目标。目前中国正在大力推动零排放电动汽车的普及应用以及可再生能源发电及并网。  

China recently became the fifth country to say it will eventually phase out cars powered by fossil fuels. Like the four other countries – Britain, France, Norway and India – China sees this as a way to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord. And like the others, it is heavily promoting the adoption of emission-free electric vehicles combined with renewable energy generation.

《巴黎气候协定》的195个缔约国齐聚德国波恩，参加第二十三届缔约方大会，政策制定者们有机会联手进一步推动全球电动汽车的发展。随着电动汽车技术的突破，大量新型电动汽车将在未来三年投放市场，提供配套的充电设施日益成为了关注的焦点。而要让电动汽车成为真正可持续发展的交通方式，充电站必须使用可再生能源。

Now, as the 195 signatory nations to the Paris climate accord meet in Bonn, Germany for the COP23 climate summit, policymakers have an opportunity to make an even bigger global push for e-cars. Now that the technological challenge of electric mobility has been solved and many new e-vehicles will come on to the market over the next three years, the focus needs to be on providing the necessary charging infrastructure. To make e-cars a truly sustainable form of transport, charging stations must be combined with renewable energy.

新技术的应用有力促进了政策制定者们推动电动汽车普及的步伐。从中期来看，鉴于电动汽车产量增加带来的价格快速下跌，电动汽车的购置成本并不会高于传统汽车，而更低的使用成本促使电动汽车更受消费者欢迎。

Policymakers already have the weight of new technology on their side as they make this push for faster adoption of electric cars. In the medium term, electric vehicles will not cost more than conventional vehicles. Prices are falling rapidly as production numbers rise and the vehicles’ lower operating costs already make them attractive to many car buyers.

电池是所有电动汽车的关键技术之一。伴随着电池能效的提升和全球需求的增长，电池价格将变得更加亲民。得益于新一代的电池技术，电动汽车续航里程可达到300公里（187英里）；同时，新的大功率充电技术将充电时间缩短至十几分钟，摆脱了过去动辄一整晚充电时间对电动汽车普及的束缚。

The most critical technology that goes into any e-car is the batteries that power it. These are becoming more affordable even as they grow more efficient and global demand accelerates. Thanks to the latest generation of batteries, the range of vehicles has been extended to slightly over 300 kilometers between charges. What’s more, new high-power charging technology has reduced recharging times to around ten minutes – a dramatic advance from the overnight charging that limited widespread adoption of the earlier generation of electric cars.

接下来的问题是，充电站到哪里去找？消费者关心的是，如果购置了电动汽车作为个人出行的主要工具，那么无论离家多远，都能像现在寻找加油站一样方便即时地找到充电站。这也正是目前政策制定者们推动电动交通飞跃式发展所关注的重点领域。

The biggest remaining impediment to the adoption of battery-powered cars is the dearth of charging stations. For the electric car to become a major form of personal transportation, consumers need to know that, no matter how far they venture from home, they will be as certain to encounter a charging station as they now are to find a filling station. This is precisely where policymakers are now in a position to enable a quantum leap in e-mobility.

作为技术领导者，ABB致力于开发电动汽车大功率充电技术，推动充电系统接入电网，以及推广可再生能源发电及并网技术。在该领域，ABB及其他几家公司与各国交通部门合作，为电动汽车、电动公交车及其它电动交通工具建立起快速充电网络。截至目前，ABB已在全球超过50个国家应用了基于云计算的充电解决方案，可对充电流、信息流和支付流进行实时无缝管理。

As a technology leader, ABB is engaged in the effort to develop high-power charging technologies for electric vehicles, extend the power-grid connections that support these charging systems, and move towards renewable power generation. In this effort, we are one of several companies working with transport officials around the world to set up fast-charging networks for electric cars, buses and other types of transportation. To date, we have installed cloud-based charging solutions in more than 50 countries, so they can seamlessly manage the flow of electricity, service information and payments.

尽管行业内已做好准备，仍需政策制定者们提供支持，促进电动汽车行业的发展。如果大家共同努力，我们就能通过智能电网将可再生能源应用于电动汽车，从而实现向可持续交通方式的转变。

The private sector is ready to do its part, but policymakers must take the necessary steps to support and enable the effort. If we all work together, we can make the transition to sustainable transport by combining electric vehicles with renewable power generation, connected through smart grids.

很多政策制定者们都认可电动汽车对环境、公共健康和经济所带来的新的价值。因此，多国政府开展了诸如，补贴和退税等优惠政策，以鼓励消费者购买符合标准的电动汽车。与此同时，对配套基础设施增加投资也不容忽略。

Many policymakers understand the environmental, public health and economic benefits that the widespread adoption of electric cars could generate. That is why many governments offer subsidies and rebates to consumers who purchase qualifying vehicles. But it is just as vital to promote investment in the necessary energy infrastructure.

目前，该领域的进展依旧缓慢。欧洲新能源观察组织（EAFO）的数据显示，整个欧盟地区仅有约12万个非家用充电站。而在美国，尽管纯电动车和油电混合车已售出超过50万辆，非家用充电站的数量却只有约1.6万个。

To date, progress has been slow. Across the European Union, there are only an estimated 120,000 non-residential charging stations according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory. In the United States, where more than half a million all-electric or plug-in hybrid cars have been sold, there are roughly 16,000 non-residential charging sites.

中国是全球推广电动汽车最为积极的国家之一，仅去年一年，就售出超过35万辆电动汽车。中国的目标是在2107年底累计建成80万个充电站，并计划在2020年建成满足500万辆电动汽车需求的充电网络。

China － where last year alone more than 350,000 electric vehicles were sold － has been more proactive than most. It is pushing to raise its total to 800,000 charging sites by the end of 2017. Chinese planners intend to build a network to serve 5 million e-cars by 2020. Yet there are currently an estimated 290 million vehicles on China’s roads. Replacing them all with electric vehicles will prove extremely challenging if the charging infrastructure is not in place.

有关电动汽车的发展，还有一段历史插曲。

There is a historic irony behind the world’s effort to wean itself from fossil-fuel cars.

1885年卡尔·本茨在德国曼海姆发明了第一辆汽油发动机驱动的汽车。而就在同一时期，欧洲其他的发明家受到铅酸电池问世的启发，正在研发最早期的电动汽车。

Karl Benz invented the first automobile in 1885 in the German city of Mannheim. It’s less well known that other inventors across Europe were developing the earliest electric cars at around the same time, inspired by the recent introduction of the lead-acid battery.

在汽车产业兴起的前20年中，以电池驱动的汽车在销量上已经超过了诸如本茨发明的化石燃料驱动的汽车。但消音器和起动机等重大改进的出现改变了局面，燃油车占得上风。同时，随着美国标准石油公司等石化公司的崛起，油品的销售带动了加油站像雨后春笋般占领了大众市场。

For the first 20 years of the auto industry’s existence, battery-powered vehicles outsold those, like Benz’s, that were powered by fossil fuels. That changed when major improvements, like the muffler and the automatic starter, helped give gasoline-powered vehicles an edge. So did the emergent petroleum companies, like Standard Oil in the United States, which had a ready incentive to build networks of filling stations to sell fossil fuels to a mass market.

现在，随着电池技术领域的新进展，电动汽车优势重现。尽管有消费者意愿和其它强大市场力量的支持，但仍需要出台公共政策以改变传统加油站主导的市场现状，进而确保快速、有序地将传统汽车替换为电动汽车。新一轮出台的政府举措正朝着这一正确的方向前进。

New advances in battery technology are now shifting that edge back in favor of electric vehicles. While consumer sentiment and other powerful market forces underlie the long-term transition to e-mobility, it may take a public policy push to overcome the entrenched status of filling stations and ensure a rapid and orderly changeover to e-cars. The latest round of governmental announcements show progress in the right direction.

在很多领域，我们能够也必须有所作为，比如：对充电设施投资项目实行税收减免；制定充电协议国际标准；为大功率充电技术研发提供额外资金支持；甚至强制在现有加油站，尤其是高速沿线的加油站，安装充电设施。

Yet there is much more that can and should be done. Possibilities include providing tax breaks for investments in charging systems; establishing international standards for charging protocols; funding additional research for high-power charging technologies; or even mandating installation of charging stations at some existing filling stations, such as those located on public highways.

科技的飞速发展为我们创造了新的历史机遇，在不过度消耗地球资源的前提下实现发展。我们必须携手努力，利用智能电网连接充电汽车与可再生能源发电。长期依赖化石燃料对环境和公众健康造成的影响与日俱增，人类选择新的、升级的出行方式势在必行。实现绿色交通，清除城市空气污染，告别温室气体排放，我们期待着这一天早日到来。

Technological advances have given this historic opportunity to run the world without consuming the earth. The key is for all of us work together to combine electric vehicles with renewable power generation, connecting them with a smart grid. As the environmental and public health concerns of our longstanding reliance on fossil fuels have grown, it is clear just how much we stand to gain by embracing new and improved ways to travel. The faster we can make this happen, and rid our cities of air pollution and our atmosphere of greenhouse gas emissions, the better.

史毕福博士是ABB集团总裁兼首席执行官。ABB是全球电气产品、机器人及运动控制、工业自动化和电网领域的技术领导企业，致力于帮助电力、工业、交通和基础设施等行业客户提高业绩。基于超过125年的创新历史，ABB正在不断地推动能源革命和第四次工业革命，谱写行业数字化的未来。ABB集团业务遍布全球100多个国家，雇员达13.6万。

Ulrich Spiesshofer is president and CEO of ABB, a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees.

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