Is There Such a Thing as a Green Car?

The majority of cars driven today are still powered by petrol or diesel, and they are a major source of greenhouse gases.

The majority of cars driven today are still powered by petrol or diesel, and they are a major source of greenhouse gases. Defenders of the conventional car are quick to point out that the carbon emissions of modest-sized vehicles are dwarfed by those of big industries, and it’s unfair to try and shift the responsibility onto individuals when governments are still dragging their feet and big businesses are still not being held accountable for their role in the climate catastrophe. They’re absolutely right, we need governments and businesses to act decisively and ambitiously now, but however you look at it, conventional cars are still a driver of climate change.  There are around a billion passenger cars in the world, and they’re responsible for approximately 41% of carbon emissions generated by transport - roughly five times that of the aviation industry. Carbon emissions from passenger cars have steadily risen since 2000, peaking at 3.2 billion metric tons in 2019 before briefly dipping the following year. This drop was a temporary result of the Covid lockdowns, but carbon emissions are now back on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels. This issue cannot be ignored in the push to reach net zero before the worst effects of climate change are realised. Many carbon-conscious individuals are turning to electric vehicles (EVs) as one possible solution. The number of EVs on the road has increased dramatically. Sales of EVs doubled from 2020 to 2021, with EVs accounting for around 10% of the global market. This trend seems set to continue, with first quarter sales in 2022 up 75% from the same period last year. People are turning to electric cars for a number of reasons. Fully electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions, and it’s cheaper to charge one than fill a tank of petrol. This cost will drop even further as the world hopefully turns to renewable energy production, which is drastically cheaper than burning fossil fuels.  Critics of EVs note that despite the lack of emissions from the car itself, EVs are still not carbon free. The electricity to charge the car has to come from somewhere, and with many nations still using coal or natural gas for energy production, charging the vehicle puts carbon into the atmosphere. This is why the effectiveness of EVs in combating climate change is a topic of debate. EVs in countries that generate a significant amount of energy from fossil fuels do appear less green than EVs in countries that use more low-carbon or renewable energy sources.  For example, EVs in Germany, the largest consumer of coal in Europe, will produce more lifetime greenhouse emissions (including those from manufacturing and charging the vehicle) when compared with France or other nations that produce more electricity from renewable or low-emission sources. When compared to conventional vehicles however, all EVs will produce considerably less greenhouse emissions regardless of the country and its energy strategy. For conventional vehicles, tailpipe emissions are the biggest source of carbon over its lifetime. Fully electric vehicles entirely eliminate this.  EVs may not currently be a viable option for everyone. It’s expensive to replace an existing vehicle, even if an EV will be cheaper to run over its lifetime, and there is also the issue of charging. Despite ambitious targets, many countries still lack adequate public charge points, and there is a major discrepancy between urban and rural areas.  Both public and private organisations are on a mission to change this however, and with EV sales on the rise, soon the passenger car may no longer be a major contributor to climate change.