Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Electric Cars
By: Megan Wysocki
Tags: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Reduce Carbon Emissions, Electric, Electric Car, Cars

Reducing Carbon Equivalent Emissions

To reduce net carbon equivalent emissions means that we have to remove or balance out the amount of carbon, carbon monoxide (CO), or carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Drawdown calculated that if electric car ownership rises to 16–23 percent of total passenger km, 11.9–15.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent can be avoided or reduced [Fig. 1]. This data accounts for emissions from electricity generation and higher emissions of producing electric cars compared to cars with gasoline or diesel engines — internal-combustion cars. These emissions estimates are also based on the electricity and fuel usage data from a wide range of sources. The emissions factors were calculated based on guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and recent sources for grid emissions factors. The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, and it was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, it’s implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. In the emissions model, indirect emissions were also included in the data. Indirect emissions include things such as the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, waste disposal, business travel, and consumption of purchased electricity, heat, or steam. Indirect emissions were included because electric vehicle production generates 6 percent higher indirect emissions than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. As of 2018, there were reported to be a little over 5 million electric cars on the road all over the world.

[Fig. 1] Project drawdown projected carbon dioxide reduction. Source: https://drawdown.org/solutions/electric-cars

When will we see the desired effect?

In order for the world to see the desired effect of implementing more electric cars and for this change to be meaningful, there is a certain amount of activity that must be done. First consumer education is a key component of electric vehicle adoption. This is important in order to relieve concerns about the upfront price premium and the reduced range of electric vehicles compared to ICE cars. As the technology matures in regard to the battery and economies of scale grow, the price of manufacturing these high-capacity batteries will decrease. So, both the purchase price and the range of electric vehicles will become more attractive to the world population. To get to this point, Drawdown suggests that it may require greater financial incentives for consumers as well as a focus on the mass market rather than the high-end consumer like they are doing now.

Electric car producers would have to manage the problem that came with increase battery production, like sourcing key metals such as cobalt, copper, and nickel, whose supply chains can have negative environmental and social impacts on the world. Also, the disposal of old batteries is an environmental challenge right now so we would need to focus on finding better ways of disposing of the batteries. Another activity or policy that needs to be fulfilled in order for this Drawdown solution to work is the implantation of more charging stations, and for charging stations to become more available to put in homes. Another way that can help this desired effect to take off is if we have more advertisement for it. If there was more advertisement to the middle-class economy, it would help to show that these cars are affordable to them and not only for people who are in the upper-class economy. Right now, most “advertisement” that people see comes from celebrities having showed off their car. If we accomplish these activities, the electric car industry will have a better chance of taking off.

Cost and Benefits

In order to reduce the CO2 equivalent by 11.87–15.68 gigatons between 2020 and 2050, there are some costs that we must include. Like stated earlier, car ownership must rise to 16–23% of total passenger km. This will have a first cost of $4.5–5.8 trillion by 2050 but have a net operational savings of $15.30–21.82 trillion US dollars [Fig. 2]. These numbers were calculated by adopting two different scenarios.

First Scenario

In the first scenario, it is aligned with the International Energy Agency (IEA) projection for electric vehicle stocks. It leads to 860 million electric vehicles on the road in 2050, with the carbon dioxide reduction of 11.9 gigaton between 2020 and 2050.

Second Scenario

In the second scenario, IEA projections and historical electric vehicle sales are combined to project the total stock of EV cars out to 2050. This scenario projects that 1.2 billion electric vehicles would be on the road by 250, resulting in 15.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided.

[Fig. 2] Net first cost of implementing electric cars and lifetime net savings after these scenarios are in effect. Source: https://drawdown.org/solutions/electric-cars

In regard to the net first costs for purchasing an electric car, this was estimated using several sources the cover key markets in US, China, EU, Japan, and the world as a whole. These costs were weighted by market sales and purchase costs for the EV were averaged to be $8,000 (US) higher than the ICE cars. Operating costs were calculated by including grid electricity for electric cars and fuel for the plug-in hybrid and ICE). Fuel and electricity use were based on many sources including US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Also, operating costs included the maintenance costs, and fixed operating costs for cars. If we do follow either of these two scenarios, by 2050 we will benefit greatly economically and also environmentally.

What are the environmental co-benefits?

There are many environmental co-benefits for using electric cars over cars that use gasoline or deiseal engines. One major benefit of electric cars is the fact that it reduces the amount of CO2 put into the air significantly. Electric cars do not have a tailpipe, so they produce no carbon dioxide emissions when driving and as a result reduces air pollution considerably. Even with the electricity generation, the carbon emissions of an electric car are around 17–30% lower than driving a gasoline or diesel cars.

Direct and Life Cycle Emissions

There are two general categories of vehicle emissions: direct and life cycle. Direct emissions include pollutants such as particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Electric cars help with the lowering of direct emissions significantly because they produce zero direct emissions. Life cycle emissions include all emissions related to fuel and vehicle productions, processing, distribution, use, and recycling/disposal. Electric vehicles typically produce fewer life cycle emissions than ICE vehicles because most emissions are lower for electricity generation than burning gasoline or diesel. Electric cars can further minimize their life cycle emissions by using electricity generated by non-polluting renewable sources like solar and wind. Below, you can see the national average of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for electric, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, and gasoline vehicles [Fig. 3].

[Fig. 3] National Average for the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for all electric vehicles. Source: https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.html

This bar and pie graph take into account what is called the “well-to-wheel” emissions. This term describes the assessment of the environmental impact given on the car throughout its lifespan. This can start with drilling up petroleum from the ground or building the battery for the electric cars. This means it takes into account all emissions that it could emit even when developing the car. When pursing this drawdown strategy, the environmental co-benefits show just how much of an impact it can make on our environment.