According to analytical data, as of the end of 2018, there were about 1.3 billion vehicles in use in the world. And the growth of the global car fleet will naturally continue: it is expected that by 2050 there will be approximately 2.5 billion registered vehicles on Earth. Today, the territories with the largest absolute number of cars include China, the USA, and the EU; in a couple of decades, the championship may go to the Middle East and Africa, the Asia-Pacific region.
Experts warn that this dynamic of growth also brings with it serious problems. On the one hand, the growth of population mobility has a positive effect on the economy. However, on the other hand, in addition to continuing inequality in the economic and social sphere, a number of environmental problems associated with the increase in the use of fossil fuels will be exacerbated, which will undoubtedly affect the further deterioration of the environment and an increase in the number of deaths from air pollution (excluding road traffic accidents).
UN experts draw attention to the factor that in the 21st century, greenhouse gas emissions from transport grew at a faster pace than in any other energy-consuming industries. And the International Clean Transport Council (ICCT) blew up the public with shocking data: the global transport sector accounts for 11% of 3.4 million premature deaths from dirty air. In 2015, it was more than 370,000 people worldwide, and specifically 47% of people (out of 11%) died from diesel exhaust emissions.
Some EU countries declare the final transition to cars with electric motors, but it is not yet known when this will happen. So far, more than a billion cars travel on the roads of the Earth, and electric vehicles - less than 1% of the number of cars. Gas engine fuel, which is much safer than gasoline in terms of environmental characteristics, is not among the favorites. But for now, as the International Gas Union predicts, the volume of the gas car market will only grow to 50 million cars in 2020, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.