Vehicles emit two different types of emissions. There are the ones that ruin the air quality, and the others affect human health. The main greenhouse gas that is produced by cars is carbon dioxide. Cars also produce nitrous oxide and methane, but these amounts are smaller compared to CO2. The other gases that are emitted by cars and are considered air pollutants are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. These gases can cause smog, difficulties breathing, heart and lung diseases, and cancer.
Different types of transportation were responsible for about 25% of CO2 emissions in 2019. And from this number, the cars that are in personal use are responsible for 61% of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2018, the average car occupancy rate was only 1.6 people per car. Transportation is one of the sectors where the amount of greenhouse gasses has increased the most. Between the years 1990 and 2019, the growth was 33.5%. To help reduce the amount of emissions that are emitted by cars, the European Union has set some regulations for standard passenger cars. With the new rules, CO2 emissions fell between 2019 and 2022 by 27%.
There are two main ways to reduce the emissions that are emitted by personal vehicles. One option would be to make the vehicles more efficient or to change the fuel used. In 2019, there were two main fuels used: diesel (67%), and gasoline (25%). Electric vehicles have started to gain popularity. In 2021, of all the new cars sold, 17.8% were electrical. In 2020, the amount was only 10.7% from all the cars sold.
To consider all the CO2 that is emitted by cars, then also the emissions that are emitted during production and disposal should also be considered. For example, lots of emissions are emitted while producing the batteries for electrical vehicles. Therefore, lots of people have questioned the environmental friendliness of electrical vehicles. When electric cars are produced and at the end of their usage, they emit more than internal combustion engines. Also, the amount of emissions electrical cars emit also depends on how the electricity, what is used while driving, is produced. Still, even now, the way Europe produces electricity on average (burning coal, using wind energy, hydroelectric energy, nuclear energy, and so on), electric cars are cleaner than vehicles using petrol.
Electric vehicles have an important role to play if we want to reach the global goal of slowing down warming. Like already said, across the lifecycle of an electrical car, it produces less emissions than cars that use petrol or diesel. Electric cars produce 17–30% less emissions compared to petrol and diesel cars. It takes about 5 years for an average electric car to make up for the emissions that were produced during production. Since the electricity production is aiming to be cleaner in the future, the break-even period will be even shorter.
In conclusion, in the future, electrical cars will become even more efficient. The production of electrical cars will be cleaner, and it is expected that by 2050, the emissions of electrical cars will be lower by 73%. To make the transition from fossil fuel cars to electrical cars faster, there are some ways to speed it up. For example, to change the emission trading system. To increase the amount of renewable transport fuels. Abolishing tax benefits for fossil fuels. Or finding some other alternative fuels, for example, renewable hydrogen.
Europe has started to use some measures to increase the usage of electrical vehicles. For example, they offer financial support to the companies that produces electrical vehicles. They are trying to build a good infrastructure for charging places or support people in installing the home chargers. Governments also do public procurements for electrical vehicles. For example, they buy electrical municipal vehicles. But the EU also offers some benefits to electric vehicle owners. For example, in some places, they can park for free, use free charging, get toll exemptions, use bus lanes, or access low-emission zones.
Sources:
https://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/pages/UnderstandingEmissions/VehicleEmissions
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/transport/road-transport-reducing-co2-emissions-vehicles/co2-emission-performance-standards-cars-and-vans_en
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-and-figures-infographics
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/electric-vehicles
https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-electric-vehicles-help-to-tackle-climate-change/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-vehicles-beat-gas-cars-on-climate-emissions-over-time/
