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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/oct/05/electric-cars-emissions-bad-environment
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Are electric cars bad for the environment? | Are electric cars bad for the environment? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 9.40am: A study by engineers based at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has questioned some common assumptions about the environmental credentials of electric cars. | 9.40am: A study by engineers based at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has questioned some common assumptions about the environmental credentials of electric cars. |
| Published this week in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, the "comparative environmental life cycle assessment of conventional and electric vehicles" begins by stating that "it is important to address concerns of problem-shifting". By this, the authors mean that by solving one problem, do electric cars create another? And, if so, does this environmental harm then outweigh any advantages? | Published this week in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, the "comparative environmental life cycle assessment of conventional and electric vehicles" begins by stating that "it is important to address concerns of problem-shifting". By this, the authors mean that by solving one problem, do electric cars create another? And, if so, does this environmental harm then outweigh any advantages? |
| The study highlights in particular the "toxicity" of the electric car's manufacturing process compared to conventional petrol/diesel cars. It concludes that the "global warming potential" of the process used to make electric cars is twice that of conventional cars. | The study highlights in particular the "toxicity" of the electric car's manufacturing process compared to conventional petrol/diesel cars. It concludes that the "global warming potential" of the process used to make electric cars is twice that of conventional cars. |
| The study also says - as has been noted many times before - that electric cars do not make sense if the electricity they consume is produced predominately by coal-fired power stations. "It is counterproductive to promote [electric vehicles] EVs in regions where electricity is produced from oil, coal, and lignite combustion," it concludes. | The study also says - as has been noted many times before - that electric cars do not make sense if the electricity they consume is produced predominately by coal-fired power stations. "It is counterproductive to promote [electric vehicles] EVs in regions where electricity is produced from oil, coal, and lignite combustion," it concludes. |
| So, should this new study make us reassess the environmental credentials of electric cars? Or does the analysis and data help us, as the authors insist, improve the environmental performance of electric cars? As they say: | So, should this new study make us reassess the environmental credentials of electric cars? Or does the analysis and data help us, as the authors insist, improve the environmental performance of electric cars? As they say: |
| Although EVs are an important technological breakthrough with substantial potential environmental benefits, these cannot be harnessed everywhere and in every condition. | Although EVs are an important technological breakthrough with substantial potential environmental benefits, these cannot be harnessed everywhere and in every condition. |
| Please leave your thoughts below. If you are quoting figures or other studies, please provide a link through to the original source. I will also be inviting various interested parties to join the debate, too. And later on today, I will return with my own verdict. | Please leave your thoughts below. If you are quoting figures or other studies, please provide a link through to the original source. I will also be inviting various interested parties to join the debate, too. And later on today, I will return with my own verdict. |
| 10.09am: There has already been some reaction via Twitter asking if the study is "well-to-wheel", namely, does it also include the emissions caused during the extraction/production of petrol/diesel? | 10.09am: There has already been some reaction via Twitter asking if the study is "well-to-wheel", namely, does it also include the emissions caused during the extraction/production of petrol/diesel? |
| I have just received an email from Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, one of the authors, answering this precise point: | I have just received an email from Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, one of the authors, answering this precise point: |
| Yes, our study covers the whole production chain of the cars and of the fuels, the use phase, and the end of life. | Yes, our study covers the whole production chain of the cars and of the fuels, the use phase, and the end of life. |
| P.S. I have asked the authors of the paper to monitor this debate and respond to any other queries from readers. | P.S. I have asked the authors of the paper to monitor this debate and respond to any other queries from readers. |
| 10.32am: It's probably worth highlighting, just in case you missed the link above, that the paper in question can be read in full here. Here's the key conclusion: | 10.32am: It's probably worth highlighting, just in case you missed the link above, that the paper in question can be read in full here. Here's the key conclusion: |
| The production phase of EVs proved substantially more environmentally intensive. Nonetheless, substantial overall improvements in regard to GWP [global warming potential], TAP [terrestrial acidification potential], and other impacts may be achieved by EVs powered with appropriate energy sources relative to comparable ICEVs [internal combustion engine vehicles]. However, it is counterproductive to promote EVs in regions where electricity is produced from oil, coal, and lignite combustion. The electrification of transportation should be accompanied by a sharpened policy focus with regard to life cycle management, and thus counter potential setbacks in terms of water pollution and toxicity. EVs are poised to link the personal transportation sector together with the electricity, the electronic, and the metal industry sectors in an unprecedented way. Therefore the developments of these sectors must be jointly and consistently addressed in order for EVs to contribute positively to pollution mitigation efforts. | The production phase of EVs proved substantially more environmentally intensive. Nonetheless, substantial overall improvements in regard to GWP [global warming potential], TAP [terrestrial acidification potential], and other impacts may be achieved by EVs powered with appropriate energy sources relative to comparable ICEVs [internal combustion engine vehicles]. However, it is counterproductive to promote EVs in regions where electricity is produced from oil, coal, and lignite combustion. The electrification of transportation should be accompanied by a sharpened policy focus with regard to life cycle management, and thus counter potential setbacks in terms of water pollution and toxicity. EVs are poised to link the personal transportation sector together with the electricity, the electronic, and the metal industry sectors in an unprecedented way. Therefore the developments of these sectors must be jointly and consistently addressed in order for EVs to contribute positively to pollution mitigation efforts. |
| 10.38am: In the comment below, @MartynW asked: | |
Does this study take account of cars being one of the most recycled products we use? | Does this study take account of cars being one of the most recycled products we use? |
| Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, one of the paper's authors, has just emailed me this in response: | Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, one of the paper's authors, has just emailed me this in response: |
| The crucial importance of recycling is one of the conclusions of our analysis. There are different ways to account for recycling in Life Cycle Assessment. We have chosen to analyse a "first wave" of electric vehicles, made from average metal mixes (a fraction virgin and a fraction from recycling). Hopefully, subsequent "waves" of electric cars would be made with a higher fraction of recycled metal (ecars made from ecars, cradle-to-cradle...), but the industry is not there yet. | The crucial importance of recycling is one of the conclusions of our analysis. There are different ways to account for recycling in Life Cycle Assessment. We have chosen to analyse a "first wave" of electric vehicles, made from average metal mixes (a fraction virgin and a fraction from recycling). Hopefully, subsequent "waves" of electric cars would be made with a higher fraction of recycled metal (ecars made from ecars, cradle-to-cradle...), but the industry is not there yet. |
| 11.24am: Many thanks for the great response from readers so far. Here are a few interesting observations that I thought worth highlighting here "above the line"... | |
| Dr Simon Evans: | |
| While we can expect petrol/diesel cars to become more efficient I would have though the same will be true of electric car manufacture, plus grid mix carbon intensity is going to fall through the floor if carbon targets are met - at least inthe UK. This will make electric cars an even better proposition in CO2 terms | |
| ikd: | |
| The place that most of these studies fall down is that they don't properly account for the toxic air pollution benefits of EVs and in particular it's spatial dependence. The effects of pollution on health are much higher pro rata in highly polluted city centres (like London) than in less polluted, smaller cities or rural areas. | |
| madkiwi: | |
| While EVs currently rely on polluting power stations, in the future, these can become friendlier, as alternative sources are developed. I see EVs as not being perfect, but they have a lot more potential than IC cars that will always be polluting, no matter how efficient they are. | |
| Guess11: | |
| The study does not go beyond looking at 'average use' of vehicles in calculating it's numbers. No comparative numbers for predominantly low speed, urban, stop-start use. All of these factors will significantly favour electric. |