Accelerating the transition to alternative fuel vehicles through a Distributive Justice perspective

In this paper, we build a system dynamics model to investigate the ongoing endeavor to transition from conventional non-renewable transportation systems to renewable ones. The model focuses on light to mid duty vehicles in the private transportation sector. The literature focuses on the environmental and economic aspects of such a transition. We adopt distributive justice as a new angle, define it as access to transportation, justify its relevance by considering it a vital need for people to actualize their capabilities in society and propose a measure to quantitatively measure it in our context. There are several layers of tradeoffs in policy appraisal, yet we are able to catalyze the transition to AFV's while improving its sustainability. A policy that ensures such a harmonious behavior is one that focuses on the GHG emissions with little to no emphasis on the AFV quotas, while providing support for consumers to switch to AFV's.