Electricity, mobility and the neglected indirect emissions

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from passenger cars represent an important and growing contributor to climate change. Increasing the proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) in passenger car fleets could help to reduce these emissions, but their ability to do this depends on the fuel mix used in generating the electricity that energises EVs. This chapter analyses the indirect well-to-wheels CO2 emissions from EVs when run in a range of countries and compares these to well-to-wheels emissions data for a selection of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) (Holdway, Energy Environ Sci 3(12):1825-1832).