Former assistant professor Aileen Lam from the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau (UM), and her research team recently published an article titled “Evidence of a cascading positive tipping point towards electric vehicles” in the top-tier international journal Nature Communications.
This study provides statistical evidence that the global automotive market is on the verge of a “positive tipping point,” where the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) becomes self-sustaining and irreversible. By analyzing sales data from 33 countries, the researchers found that the dominance of gas-powered cars is rapidly destabilizing in major markets like China, the EU, and the US. While this signals a major shift, the authors warn that continued policy support is still required to ensure the transition happens fast enough to meet climate targets.
Nature Communications is a multidisciplinary, open-access journal from the prestigious Nature Portfolio. It publishes high-quality research from all areas of the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry, biology, and earth sciences. As an open-access title, it ensures that significant scientific advances are freely available to researchers, policymakers, and the public worldwide. The published article represents research completed during Prof. Lam’s tenure at UM.
Aileen Lam previously served as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau, and was also a UM Macao Fellow. She is currently an economist at the World Bank. Her primary research interests include environmental economics, macroeconomics, transportation, climate policy, and energy transition. Her work has been published in leading scientific journals such as Nature Climate Change and Nature Energy.
The “UM Talent Programme— UM Macao Fellow” aims to recruit and nurture local young scholars while attracting outstanding Macao talents to return and develop their careers in the region. In addition to conducting research at UM, UM Macao Fellows have opportunities to serve as visiting scholars or researchers at renowned universities or institutions abroad, further enhancing their teaching and research experience, broadening their international perspectives, and enriching their professional expertise.
For more details on the research article, please visit: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66945-9
