- A new online tool released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) allows consumers to compare the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of all passenger cars – from the raw materials stage right up to the end of use.
- With the option to compare battery electric, petrol/diesel, and hybrid powertrains, the tool gives consumers clear facts and figures about the typically lower lifetime emissions of EVs.
- The tool takes into account a wide range of parameters, including vehicle size, distance driven, and the energy mix used for charging.
IEA tool shows the EV advantage
The tool allows users to adjust everything from predicted vehicle lifetime, the style in which the car is driven, the fuel/energy consumption, and the proportion of renewables used to charge EVs. On the EV side, it also takes into account the emissions generated from mining and extraction of raw materials. Using an assumption of energy usage based on current policy, alongside the comparison of a petrol and electric car, both with 15-year lifetimes, and driven 70km a day, a petrol car would produce 87.6t of CO2 equivalent over its life. This compares to 35.7t of CO2 equivalent for a comparable EV – approximately 59% less.
This tool also helps disprove those that say claims about the environmental benefits of EVs have been made using beneficial figures. The numbers here can be adjusted to the user’s liking, but EVs still come first place for sustainability in the wide majority of cases. Even in a worst case energy scenario, where 90% of electricity emissions come from coal, a typical EV using the above figures would produce 69.4t of CO2 equivalent over its lifetime, compared to 87.6t of CO2 equivalent for a petrol-powered car.
Despite the clear environmental advantage, EVs, particularly at the stages before and after use, can still get greener. Manufacturers such as Volvo, who have a strong sustainability standpoint, as shown in its recent partnership with The Eden Project have also been jumping on the chance to reduce the lifetime GHG emissions of their vehicles. The company recently announced that the new Volvo EX30 EV had the lowest total carbon footprint of any electric car made by the brand yet.
You can play with the tool yourself, here.
