New research shows that electric vehicles (EV) are better for the environment than traditional petrol and diesel models, and that benefit will grow as power generators shift away from coal.
Moreover, as electricity grids continue decarbonising as more countries around the world shift away from coal towards cleaner energy sources, the climate credentials of EVs are on course grow even further in future, the influential analyst firm BloombergNEF (BNEF) argues.
That’s the conclusion of the research, which found carbon dioxide emissions from battery-powered vehicles were about 40 per cent lower than for internal combustion engines last year.
The difference was biggest in Britain and the United Kingdom, which have large renewable energy industries.
BNEF said it still held in China, which is more reliant on coal to make electricity.
The report adds clarity to the debate about the lifetime emissions of electric vehicles, which while they don’t pollute on the road do consume electricity that is often generated using fossil fuels.
BNEF’s research assumes that electric cars will become cleaner in the coming years as utilities close coal plants and draw more energy from wind and solar farms, a process well underway almost everywhere except Southeast Asia.
“When an internal combustion vehicle rolls off the line its emissions per km are set, but for an EV they keep falling every year as the grid gets cleaner,” Colin McKerracher, a transport analyst at BNEF said.
BNEF’s forecasts show for how much the gap will grow, with China expected to make rapid progress as its renewable energy industry takes a bigger share of the power generation market in the coming years.
The widespread adoption of renewable energy will decrease average emissions by as much as 90 per cent in the UK and over a third in Japan out to 2040, according to BNEF.
The global share of zero-carbon electricity generation is set to increase from 38 per cent last year to 63 per cent by 2040, according to projections from BNEF.
While technological improvements will see related emissions from combustion engines falling by about 1.9 per cent a year through to 2040, pollution from electric vehicles will fall anywhere from three per cent and 10 per cent annually.
That’s largely because of grid decarbonization but also reduced electricity consumption, BNEF said.
