Indirect Emission of EVs are Favorable, at least after 2035, New Research Suggests

A recent article published in Nature titled “Pricing indirect emissions accelerates low—carbon transition of US light vehicle sector” states that combustion cars leave EVs way behind in terms of indirect emission amounts. Before that, there were rumors that while EVs claimed to be sustainable, their production and indirect emission were way higher, but the research shows the inverse.

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Indirect Emission of EVs

The research claims that they “combine integrated energy modeling and life cycle assessment to compare optimal policy scenarios that price emissions at the tailpipe only, versus both tailpipe and indirect emissions.” And interestingly, they found out that “scenarios that also price indirect emissions exhibit higher, rather than reduced, sales of electric vehicles, while yielding lower cumulative tailpipe and indirect emissions.”

“It becomes apparent that ‘full pricing’ not only leads to reduced tailpipe emissions but also to lower indirect supply chain emissions, at least after about 2035,” according to the article.

So, it seems like EVs are more sustainable, have lower emission values both directly and indirectly, and are more favorable among customers who can pay. Researchers also expect that the developing technology will further reduce emissions via greener production practices. And with the further sustainable and decarbonized energy supplies, EVs seem to be the best transportation option.

We have mentioned increasing interest in sustainable transportation and the possible concerns about it in our previous articles as well (Read: Hydrogen from Plastic Waste: 3 Major Corporations from Japan Has a Revolutionary Plan). As one of the concerns seems to be resolved with this new result, the fossil-fueled transportation industry has fewer cards in its hands.

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Will the indirect emission results change anything?

Well, of course, it makes EVs more desirable and puts more credibility on the technology. We all want a greener and more sustainable future technology in the end. However, the problem with the wide-scale adoption seems to be the low production and the unwillingness of the customers to go through the hustle of changing their combustion cars for a much more expensive EV. Even though EVs seem to ultimately be the choice for the energy endgame, it looks like we still need more time for the transformation.

Credit:

Wolfram, P., Weber, S., Gillingham, K. et al. Pricing indirect emissions accelerates low—carbon transition of US light vehicle sector. Nat Commun 12, 7121 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27247-y