Moldova: drive green, drive electric
The electric vehicles registered currently in Moldova reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 kg annually.
Maxim Chumash is a photographer that delights our eyes with the stunning views of Moldovan landscapes. His pictures show a green country with spectacular locations.
What does his eye see behind the photo lens?
“In years, I see an unfortunate transformation of our heavenly places. Slowly, strips of parks and forests disappear being replaced by buildings. Over the years, the number of cars is increasing dramatically,” says Maxim.
What do the statistics say?
In Moldova, the transportation sector is responsible for 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Almost 1 million vehicles are currently registered in Moldova. About 83% of the existing vehicles are older than 11 years of age or more (out of which 50% are 20 years old and more). The aging vehicle fleet increases air pollution and damages people health.
Maxim decided not to be a passive observer of the environment breakdown. Although the Government actions are crucial, Maxim has confidence in the power of individual choices and actions. He and his wife decided to start the changes from their own habits and actions. They reduce the use of plastic and one-time items, energy consumption, unplug appliances when not in use, buy local market products, etc.
Two years ago, Maxim Chumash dared for more and purchased an electric car. At that time, there were only a few chargers in the city, far from home. Weak infrastructure did not stop him. He set a personal charger in his garage. In the family with two drivers, they stopped using regular fuel car and now feeling more comfortable sharing electric one between them.
“My car is eco-friendly. It does not emit exhaust gases. It is modern, silent and comfortable,” says Maxim. “Economical, speedy, innovative, ecological — these are the arguments that have made me opt for an electric car,” states Tatiana Chumash.
More of his friends undergone test drives with the electric car, thinking of following their example and buying eco-friendly vehicles.
The number of electric cars registered in Moldova increased four times over the last 12 months — from 54 to 250.
UNDP Moldova is piling up to these statistics having in its fleet the first-ever (but not last) electric car. Electric vehicles offer great potential for reducing local air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption in the transport sector. The EV registered currently in Moldova reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 kg annually.
The picture looks now more optimistic. Keeping the same trend, Moldova will reach by 2025 a total number of 13,000 electric cars with strong impact on the environment, highlights research on Moldova EV market trends, developed by UNDP Moldova through its GEF-funded Green City Lab.
UNDP, in partnership with the Government of Moldova, is creating an enabling environment to speed up the use of low-emission vehicles as a response to the existing environmental and climate change challenges targeted in SDGs (11, 13, 3, 9).
20 new public charging stations will be installed by UNDP Moldova on the main urban routes by the end of this year, other 10 being installed next year. The network will provide electrical mobility in major cities in the country, as well as the electric corridor between Romania and Ukraine. Currently, in Moldova are registered 20 EV charging stations and only 5 of them are public.
“Hopefully this is just the beginning of a journey that will see the number of electrical vehicles in the country increase dramatically and contributing to promoting a clean, green and sustainable development path for Moldova,” says Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova.
UNDP Moldova partnered with national authorities to expand access to EV adoption. Even though there are no taxes at the EV import in the country, there is a need to expand clean transportation movement by other advantages like exempt of road tax payments, dedicated parking spaces, green numbers, etc.
In addition to shaping infrastructure and leveraging low emissions cars incentives, UNDP is raising awareness on zero-emissions transportation. Two marathons promoting eco-friendly mobility were organized in 2018 (Hybrid-Electro Marathon) and 2019 (100% Electric Marathon) with the support of UNDP and in partnership with the private sector to promote the environmentally friendly mobility, to show the real capacity of electric cars and to present the achievements of the electromobility sector in the Republic of Moldova.
