Driving Cleaner: Electric Cars and Pickups Beat Gasoline on Lifetime Global Warming Emissions

Abstract

Passenger cars and trucks are one of the largest sources of global warming emissions in the US. Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to dramatically reduce these emissions, especially when charged by low-carbon renewable electricity. New UCS analysis finds that over its lifetime—from manufacturing to operation to disposal—the average new battery electric vehicle produces more than 50 percent less global warming pollution than a comparable gasoline or diesel vehicle. Based on the most recently available data on power plant emissions and EV sales, driving the average EV in the US produces global warming emissions equal to a gasoline vehicle that gets 91 miles per gallon. To speed climate benefits and to encourage more drivers to choose electric vehicles, the report recommends policy changes and investments to bring even more renewable energy onto the grid, develop robust battery recycling programs to help reduce manufacturing impacts, and make EVs more accessible and affordable.

Impact of electric vehicle charging – An agent‐based approach

“…A battery discharge efficiency of η Battery = 90% is assumed. The dependence of the auxiliary power consumption on ambient temperature is considered based on measurements from a Chevrolet Volt [35], as shown in Figure 7.…”

“…This temperature dependence accounts for heating and cooling [35, 36]. The ambient temperatures are derived from the mesoscale weather model, which is integrated into the EnerPol framework [37].…”

Low-Carbon Pathways for Transportation: Ramping up vehicle electrification and phasing out petroleum

“…The transition to electric vehicles from 2020 to 2050 results in an associated dramatic reduction of global warming emissions because operating a battery-electric vehicle produces zero tailpipe emissions. In fact, manufacturing and operating an EV emits significantly less compared to manufacturing and operating the average new gasoline vehicle everywhere in the United States, 10 especially as the power grid used to charge the fleet relies progressively more on wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources (Reichmuth 2021b;Reichmuth, Dunn, and Anair 2022).…”

“…Phasing out the credit after the manufacturer reached a US sales limit of 200,000 EVs has been eliminated, all auto manufacturers are now eligible, and the credit is now assignable to a car dealer so that buyers can use it as part of their down payment without needing to wait until filing taxes. Additionally, for the first time, buyers of used EVs may claim a credit of $4,000 or 30 percent of the sales price, whichever is lesser (Reichmuth 2022). Successful implementation of these laws is critical for supporting the very rapid pace of electrification needed to achieve the transition to a decarbonized transportation sector by midcentury.…”

“…The contribution from these sectors stays constant or is reduced primarily because of the much greater increase in transportation electrification, in spite of some improvement in energy efficiency. According to a recent UCS study, if 95 percent of electricity generation is renewable by 2035, emissions from driving an EV would be reduced to less than one-third of current EV emissions (Reichmuth, Dunn, and Anair 2022). Aside from their important role in decarbonizing the remaining liquid fuels, bioproducts are important in displacing petroleum in other sectors of the economy as well.…”