Skepticism About Electric Vehicles
Many cynics who deny the reality of climate change are very skeptical about the benefits of electric vehicles. Sadly, some people that are genuinely concerned about our rapidly warming planet are almost as hard to convince. Before coronavirus forced us all to drink at home, the best arguments against EVS could be heard coming from folks at the local bar. Electricity, they love to point out, has to come from somewhere. Since fossil fuels generate the electricity that fuels electric cars, they are just as bad as vehicles powered by gasoline.
It’s hard for some to believe, but scientists actually do know where electricity comes from, and they’re good at math. Some of the world’s top minds at the International Energy Agency have great things to say about EVS, and these unbiased experts have carefully considered upstream emissions. They say that an average EV charged with electricity “characterized by the current global average carbon intensity (518 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour) emits less greenhouse gases” than an average vehicle with an internal combustion engine. It sounds like they’ve really given this some thought. They are also optimistic that “as the grid becomes less carbon intensive, so do EVS.”
The I.E.A. correctly states that the biggest carbon dioxide reductions from EVS will be possible in countries where “the average fuel consumption of internal combustion engine vehicles is high.” Where might that be? According to figures from 2017, the U.S. had the second worst fuel economy after Canada. The average U.S. passenger vehicle weighed 1,717 kilograms and required 8.6 liters of gasoline to go 100 kilometers. The average automobilista in Italy got around just fine in a car that weighed 1,308 kilograms and only needed 5.2 liters of benzina to go the same distance. Scientifically speaking, EVS definitely help fight climate change, and they help the most when they replace North American gasguzzlers. All you hybrid owners will be happy to know that, given the current carbon intensity of the U.S. grid, your hybrid is roughly as good for the troposphere as a typical EV.
The folks at the I.E.A. are very excited that EVS are one of the few technologies that is “on track under the Sustainable Development Scenario”, a hypothetical roadmap to a world of climate equilibrium. This promising strategy to reduce emissions is driven by a 68% increase in global EV sales that occurred in 2018, with over a million EVS sold in China. The total number of EVS on the world’s roads passed the 5 million mark, with the Chinese driving 45% of them, up from 8% in 2013. The benefits will be more fully realized when China begins to generate less of its electricity using coal. 385,000 EVS were sold to Europeans, where electrical grids are getting much cleaner. Sales were especially brisk in Norway, commanding 46% of the Norwegian market. Excitement about EVS in the United States is very uneven. In 2017, 29% of car shoppers in Palo Alto bought an EV. Across the United States, the figure was a little over 1%.
If you’re concerned about climate change but you’re still not convinced about the benefits of electric cars, I encourage you to investigate the science some more, avoiding pseudoscience whenever possible. You can always consult the cynical know-it-all at your local watering hole, but the world already has plenty of hot air.