Cars do more than get us from A to B. They're embedded into our everyday lives whether it's school pickup, getting an uber to a night out or car pooling to the beach. But they're also a major source of pollution and we need everyone - governments, industry and everyday people - to address these transport emissions.
Do the cars we drive really impact global emissions?
Today, the cars we drive account for approximately 15 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. That's a huge amount and it means that if more and more of us choose an electric vehicle (EV) the next time we buy a car, that 15% can be drastically reduced.
The car you choose isn't the only answer to reducing transport emissions though. How we get around is such a personal thing, impacted by a whole range of factors. Depending on yours, choosing to walk, cycle, take public transport, or car pool where possible, are all emission-saving options. We can be part of a shift in the way we commute to work, school and generally getting around. Replacing car journeys with public transport can help reduce CO2 emissions by 42% if using the bus and 73% if travelling by train.
The Global Carbon Budget
2023 was the hottest year on record, and this year's Global Carbon Budget (an annual scientific report) shows global emissions have risen again, up 1.1% since 2022. CO2 emissions are falling in some regions, including Europe and the USA, but rising overall – and the report says global action to cut fossil fuels is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous climate change.
According to the report, there are just seven years left (at current emissions levels) before the world hits the boundaries set under the Paris Agreement to keep global average temperatures under 1.5 degrees Celsius. And all countries need to decarbonise their economies faster than they are at present to avoid the worse impacts of climate change.
Each sector has an emissions budget. At the current rate, the emissions budget for automotive and passenger vehicles will be reached by 2035. The pathway is tight and indeed calls for accelerated action. If we do nothing it would mean using up 50 percent of the budget before 2027, and the full budget (of emissions) being used by 2035!
So what does all this mean for the cars we drive and how we get around in our daily lives…
The car industry must take action to stay below the 1.5 degrees target. The most significant emissions-reducing impact will come from eliminating tailpipe emissions in cars, plus this will also improve the air we breathe. 60-65% of the emissions an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE vehicle or car that use petrol or diesel to run) creates in its lifetime is from the tailpipe. The rest is from manufacturing.
It makes sense then that one of the most impactful ways we can drastically reduce emissions in the way we get around is through the uptake of zero emission vehicles (EVs!)
What is the car industry doing to help us
The car industry has taken some steps over the past decade to reduce their impact. So far, the primary focus for the industry has rightly been on electrification of the fleet (all cars being produced!)
Three ways the car industry can reduce carbon emissions from passenger vehicles are:
1. Transitioning to making zero emission vehicles
Over a car's lifetime, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) come out on top over internal combustion engine models. Although transitioning to BEVs would mean higher production-related emissions in the short term, mainly from battery production, overall it will mean less emissions over the life cycle of the cars. There is room to improve, which is why we love our partners Polestar who are committed to just that
Polestar undertook a Life Cycle Assessment comparing their newest Polestar 2 models with the internal combustion engine (ICE) petrol vehicle Volvo XC40 ICE. The results showed that compared with the petrol Volvo, all the Polestar 2 variants have a lower cradle-to-grave carbon footprint.
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with an interactive online tool that compares the climate impact of different vehicle models. The tool measures the emissions involved in manufacturing the cars, and in producing gasoline, and diesel fuel; how much gasoline conventional cars burn; and where the electricity to charge electric vehicles comes from! This is a good one for visual learners!
2. Using Fossil-free energy
Powering EVs with fossil-free energy is needed to completely remove any use-phase emissions from the global vehicle fleet. To stay on a 1.5-degree pathway, we not only need more electric vehicles, but the source power (i.e. whether the electricity powering your EV comes from fossil fuels or renewables) needs to shift from a global average of 39 percent fossil-free electricity to 100 percent by 2033.
3. Reducing supply chain emissions
Currently, supply chain emissions for an EV are approximately 35 to 50% higher than for ICEs. This can be reduced though, here's some ways the industry can do just that:
- Electrify the production phase, and reduce the carbon intensity of materials.
- Change designs to reduce the amount of carbon-intensive material in the vehicle. An increase across the board on design-for-decarbonisation and design-for-circularity thinking.
- Increase circularity and recycling.
To lower the footprint of EVs manufacturers need to look at solutions for batteries once they can no longer power a car. Battery life of the batteries is typically around 15-20 years and after that they can be reused for all sorts of things. If done properly, used car batteries could continue to be used for a decade or more as backup storage for solar power, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The rate of recycling lithium batteries is currently very low, only about 5% in the US. But there is work being done finding them a second life in storage and other applications. Reusing lithium-ion batteries requires extensive testing and upgrades to make sure they perform reliably.
The best option is when Electric Vehicles are powered by 100% Renewable Energy
EVs have a huge role to play in reducing oil use and combating climate change, but they will have the greatest effect if they are powered by 100% renewable energy. Most electric cars sold today tend to produce significantly fewer planet-warming emissions than most cars fuelled with gasoline. A lot however depends on how much coal is being burned to charge up those plug-in vehicles. Electric grids still need to get much, much cleaner before electric vehicles are truly emissions free. In a recent New York Times article, Jessika Trancik, an associate professor of energy studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology said, "The reason electric vehicles look like an appealing climate solution is that if we can make our grids zero-carbon, then vehicle emissions drop way, way down. Whereas even the best hybrids that burn gasoline will always have a baseline of emissions they can't go below."
EVs and charging infrastructure needs to be more accessible
To stay below the 1.5 degrees target, EVs share of sales must grow from 6 percent to close to 100 percent by 2032 according to Polestar. Achieving this goal does have some hurdles. Apart from overcoming the hurdles on the supply side from the car industry, on the demand side of things:- charging logistics; and range anxiety feature as the top two barriers to consumers buying EVs; with cost coming in a close third. For example in Australia, people are very concerned about the lack of charging stations because of the large distances between cities, and therefore Australian drivers are among the most reluctant in the world to take up fully electric vehicles. However, that's hopefully about to change with ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) announcing $70million in funding aimed at boosting the availability of charging stations across Australia. It is hoped this will in turn help to lessen range anxiety and boost sales of EVs.
The future is electric
The cars we drive and the emissions they account for play an important role in combating climate change. Yes, there is work to be done - EVs need to be powered by closer to 100% renewable energy; solutions need to be found for supply chain issues; more charging stations are needed; and consumer uptake needs to increase. But whichever way you look at it, the future has to be electric and the car industry, governments and consumers need to ensure that they all play their part.
