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Study confirms EVs more eco-friendly than gas-powered cars

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:


  • The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that electric vehicles (EVs) are cleaner compared to gas-powered vehicles.
  • The vehicles’ emissions were compared using EVs manufactured this year in Europe and in the US, China and India.
  • ICCT researcher Georg Bieker suggested phasing out the combustion engine cars.

A new study proved that electric vehicles (EV) are actually cleaner than internal combustion vehicles, debunking a myth that suggests otherwise.

The research showed that the life cycle of an EV would release lower greenhouse gas emissions versus the conventional, gas-powered car.

“We have a lot of lobby work from parts of the automotive industry saying that electric vehicles are not that much better if you take into account the electricity production and the battery production. We wanted to look into this and see whether these arguments are true,” according to Georg Bieker, a researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the nonprofit research group that published the study.

The ICCT said that the report had determined the emissions from 2021 medium-sized EVs in countries such as India, China, US and also in Europe, which comprise over 70 percent of new car sales worldwide.

The analysis found that an EV’s lifetime emissions in Europe were around 66 and 69 percent lower than the gas-powered vehicle. Meanwhile, an EV produces around 60 to 68 percent fewer emissions in the US; 37 to 45 percent fewer emissions in China; and between 19 to 34 percent lower emissions in India.

The study noted that the vehicle was officially registered this year and would be active for about 18 years. 

The research authors also reviewed types of emission-reduction for every region. This included analysis from the existing policy of energy mix, and projections from the International Energy Agency, in relation to the future electricity mix in accordance with upcoming climate policies.

One case, for instance, would be President Joe Biden’s agenda of obtaining 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, and the laws that need to be passed to back the plan.

Bieker hoped that the results of the study would aid policymakers in implementing sound resolutions for the benefit of car transportation as climate experts are working in eradicating the global greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to address the global warming crisis.

“Combustion engine vehicles of any kind are not able to deliver the greenhouse gas reductions we need to live with climate change,” Bieker said. “That’s a global finding, therefore we need globally to phase out combustion engine cars.”

Source: The Verge

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. GomeznSA

    August 3, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    While the electric cars ‘may’ in and of themselves be a lesser upfront polluter per mile than a fossil fueled vehicle, was all of the infrastructure used to build and ‘fuel’ them factored into the mix? Seems that the data for say wind power for just one example, has showed that overall the net cost per unit of energy generated will never recoup the costs of those bird choppers. But what the heck – as long as the nimby factor is applied, who really cares about the long term costs.

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