Does using an electric vehicle help achieve COP27 goals?

Some key objectives of the COP27 summit were to reduce the global GHG and carbon emissions, increase the climate financing options for developing countries and promote the energy transition towards renewables and clean energy.

A primary concern of this year’s COP27 meeting held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was the increasing carbon emissions from various sources. Such a problem can be mitigated to a great extent by electric vehicles (EVs). According to a recently published report by Future Market Insights, the global market forelectric vehicle batteries is expected to grow with a robust 8.5% CAGR from 2023-2033. Recently, due to the increasing fuel prices and enormous carbon emission from conventional vehicles, a lot of people have shifted towards EVs.

A significant feature of the EV is that it runs on electricity and not fuel. This solves almost half of the problem regarding the vehicle combustion and vehicle emissions, which harms the environment to a great extent. In this blog, we attempt to discuss such facets of an EV in decreasing global carbon and GHG emissions; how the EV engines are more sustainable, how the EVs are going for smart choices of charging to avoid grid overload and reduce carbon emissions, and how clean production solutions can be an apt one in reducing the carbon emission from the lithium batteries.

EV engines more environmental-friendly compared to ICEs

Internal combustion engines (ICEs) in conventional vehicles are powered by fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline. EVs have one or more electric motors that are driven by the rechargeable batteries made of lithium-ion, which are the same batteries that power smartphones, laptops, and computers. EVs, like other electrical gadgets, require external sources of power to charge. Other types of batteries charge by regenerative braking, and by the power produced from the vehicle’s frictional energy. Lithium-ion batteries are frequently more efficient than gasoline engines, in addition to being significantly less polluting. Many are guaranteed to last 8-10 years, with a lower carbon footprint when compared with cars having ICEs.

Since EVs do not run on fossil fuels, they often do not require some of the components found in ICE vehicles. Parts such as fuel tanks, gasoline lines, and tailpipes are a few examples. Thus, the carbon emissions, that were included in the manufacturing and production of these ICE parts, are being lowered to a great extent during the manufacturing of EVs. This implies that most EVs do not release carbon and other GHGs, which helps in minimising air pollution.

Pollution from ICE automobiles extend beyond the emissions from the vehicle’s tailpipes. The extraction of oil, then refining it into gasoline and finally distributing it to various gas stations – all of these contribute significantly to air pollution. These are known as well-to-wheel emissions or upstream emissions. Even though the present ICE manufacturers have lowered carbon emissions, their production procedure still has a detrimental influence on the environment. Whereas EVs continue to be the cleanest alternative for transportation when compared to ICEs since their complete life cycle is overall significantly more sustainable. Driving these vehicles accounts for most of manufacturing emissions since they utilise electricity as their fuel. Throughout its lifespan, an EV emits just half of the carbon emissions as that of a gasoline vehicle, thus outperforming it totally from the perspective of sustainability.

The carbon footprint of the modern EV batteries is two to three times lower than it was two years ago, and it is significantly getting cleaner over time. The automakers of the EVs are establishing various standards for their battery suppliers. For example, they mandate that suppliers exclusively utilise clean energy sources such as wind and solar throughout production. These resources can deliver the substantial amount of energy required to produce EV batteries sans the production of damaging pollutants. For instance, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is aimed at producing all its batteries with renewable energy. Such steps are helping to lower carbon emissions and make the vehicle more popular among global consumers.

Conclusion

Increasing fuel prices, along with a desire for cleaner initiatives, have pushed several businesses to shift to EVs. EVs, mostly known for their fuel economy, might be an affordable solution to save on operational expenditures. For instance, in the US, the average cost of one unit of power (kWh) is 10 cents. In comparison to a gasoline car's 10 cents per mile, an electric vehicle normally costs roughly three cents per mile.

In addition to the cheaper fuel costs, the EVs are a greener option than diesel or gas automobiles. They can lower a fleet's carbon and GHG emissions by eliminating exhaust. Such a benefit assists firms in being sustainable and following the government regulations. Furthermore, after the EVs are made, they do not add to air pollution – apart from the infrequent usage of charging facilities fueled by coal. The maximum of the carbon emissions is being generated during the manufacturing process of the battery. This implies that the overall emissions of an EV might be evaluated even before it is turned on for the very first time.

ICE cars, on the contrary, emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants every time their engine starts and is being used. A passenger car that runs on gasoline emits six to seven MT of carbon dioxide every year on an average. As per the Union of Concerned Scientistsresearch, ICE emissions outperform the well-to-wheel emissions of the EVs after just 7-18 months of operation. With thousands of these ICE vehicles on the roads everyday across the world, emissions will continue to be huge. Conversely, an electric vehicle driven by renewable power ought to have a zero-carbon impact.

Also, telematics for the EV can be an effective solution to lower carbon emission during the charging process. Telematics solutions provide a variety of fleet management tools for the EVs to assist various organisations and consumers in managing their EVs and keeping track of their EV charging. They feature real-time State of Charge, which allows users to see each vehicle's current as well as historical state of charge. One may also check the charging status to see if the cars are charging and set up State of Charge Alerts to get notifications if an EV's state of charge goes below a certain percentage. This will allow the vehicle to be rerouted to an EV charging station before the battery drains out. And similar alerts are being sent to avoid overcharging as well. Hence, with such developments coming in, the EV has got the potential to achieve the COP27 aims effectively in the years ahead.