Yet Another Study Confirms: Electric Cars Reduce Climate Pollution

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Electric cars are better for the climate than gas-powered vehicles in nearly every part of the world. That’s the clear, unequivocal finding of the first study that conducted a global examination of the current and future greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles (EVs) and gas-powered cars. This study directly refutesย myths perpetuatedย by climate science deniers and EV antagonists, whoย claim thatย EVs are really not all that green.

Theย team of European researchers behind the new studyย build on recent similar findings by the research group Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Each of these studiesย have taken a worldwide look at the life cycle emissions from EVs that are charged by a variety of forms of electricity generation, from the cleanest to the dirtiest of grids.ย The new study againย dispels theย mythย that electric cars are more polluting than gas-powered cars because they are charged by coal-firedย electricity.

Additionally, the researchersย reveal that electric heat pumps are also less carbon-intensive than fossil fuel-based heating.ย The study,ย published March 23 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Sustainability,ย supports the understanding that electrification of road transport and home heating helps lower climateย pollution.

โ€œWe show that already under current carbon intensities of electricity generation, electric cars and heat pumps are less emission intensive than fossil-fuel-based alternatives in 53 world regions, representing 95 percent of the global transport and heating demand,โ€ the study says. โ€œEven if future end-use electrification is not matched by rapid power-sector decarbonization, it will probably reduce emissions in almost all worldย regions.โ€

The study analyzed life-cycle emissions for road transport and household heating in 59 regions of the world. Its findings show that when it comes to climate, in almost every case, even inefficient EVs and heat pumps come out ahead ofย theirย veryย efficient fossil fuelย counterparts.

โ€œIn the most favourable case, even very inefficient electrification (equivalent to the upper ends of their ranges) is less emission intensive than using the most efficient new petrol cars or fossil boilers instead,โ€ the study says. โ€œEVs or [heat pumps]ย can thus reduce net emissions in almost allย situations.โ€

The exceptions are in places like Estonia and Poland that are heavily reliant on shale oil and coal, respectively. But as the electricity sector gets increasingly cleaner worldwide, electrifying homeย heating and transport becomes even more sensible from an emissionsย standpoint.

โ€œWhile it is true that in some places, the current emission intensities of electric cars are not far below the emissions of petrol cars, electric cars have an important advantage: They become greener over their lifetime, as electricity grids are gradually becoming less carbon intensive,โ€ the study’s lead authorย Dr. Florian Knobloch, who completed the research during his PhD work atย Radboud University in the Netherlands, toldย DeSmog.

Several anti-EV economists and opponents of wide-scale climate actionย promote the idea that electric vehicles are not better for the climate andย that they produce more air pollution than conventionalย cars.

Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, made these claims in a video posted by the conservative media organizationย PragerU inย 2016.

The Manhattan Instituteโ€™s Jonathan Lesser also makes this case, arguing that โ€œwidespread adoption of electric vehicles nationwide will likely increase air pollution compared with new internal combustion vehicles.โ€ Lesserโ€™s analysis falls flat, as Rocky Mountain Instituteโ€™s Lynn Daniels and Edward Klock-McCook explainย in a lengthy rebuttal piece.


Screenshot from Bjorn Lomborg’s often-debunked video for PragerU. Annotated in red byย DeSmog.ย 

The new study by Knobloch and colleagues further suggests that claims used to undermine electric vehicles by questioning their environmental benefits are basicallyย false.

โ€œThe idea that electric cars could increase emissions is essentially a myth,โ€ Knobloch,ย an economist and environmental scientist, said in a press release. โ€œWe’ve seen a lot of discussion about this recently, with lots of disinformation going around. We have run the numbers for all around the world, looking at a whole range of cars and heating systems. Even in our worst-case scenario, there would be a reduction in emissions in almost allย cases.โ€

The findings are consistent with analyses by other researchers like those at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

โ€œThe latest data affirms that driving on electricity produces significantly fewer emissions than using gasoline and is getting better over time,โ€ UCS senior vehicles engineer David Reichmuth wrote in a blog post last month. Lomborg may claim in his 2016 video that โ€œelectric cars are coal-powered cars,โ€ but this ignores the reality that coal use for electricity has rapidly declined. โ€œElectricity from coal has fallen from 45 percent to 28 percent in less than a decade,โ€ Reichmuth explains.

The essential takeaway from the new study is that electric cars have a lower carbon footprint than gasoline-powered vehicles, even with the current electricity mix substantially comprised of fossilย fuels.

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade group for petroleum refiners,ย recently posted about a higher-octane fuel that it says is making vehicles cleaner, but as this latest study confirms, even โ€œcleanerโ€ gas-powered carsย are dirtierย than electrified transportation that eliminates tailpipe emissions completely. The same goes for household heating โ€” electrification yields lower climate emissions than fossil fuel boilers.ย ย ย 

โ€œTaking into account emissions from manufacturing and ongoing energy use, itโ€™s clear that we should encourage the switch to electric cars and household heat pumps without any regrets,โ€ Knobloch said. โ€œPolicymakers in most parts of the world can go ahead with ambitious end-use electrification policies, without the need to wait for further power sectorย decarbonization.โ€

Main image credit: Howard Nuk, CC BYNCNDย 4.0

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Dana is an environmental journalist focusing on climate change and climate accountability reporting. She writes regularly for DeSmog covering topics such as fossil fuel industry opposition to climate action, climate change lawsuits, greenwashing and false climate solutions, and clean transportation.

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