Making an electric car causes more emissions than making a petrol car, mainly because of the battery. Yet over their whole life, battery electric cars registered in Europe in 2021 cause 66–69% less greenhouse gas emissions than comparable petrol cars (ICCT, 2021). The answer depends on how you count, and on the electricity that charges the car.
- Electric car carbon footprint: all greenhouse gas emissions from making, using and disposing of the car, over its life cycle.
- Battery: its production is the main reason why an electric car starts with a higher footprint.
- Electricity mix: the cleaner the grid that charges the car, the lower its footprint in use.
- Recycling: recovering battery materials cuts the footprint at the end of life.
What is the carbon footprint of an electric car?
How do you define the carbon footprint of a vehicle?
The carbon footprint of an electric car is the sum of all its greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide. They come from making, using and disposing of the car. In short, it measures the effect of a car on climate change over its whole life cycle.
How do you measure the carbon footprint of an electric car?
You count the CO₂ emissions from making the battery, from charging the car and from recycling the battery. Each stage adds to the final result.
What affects the carbon footprint of an electric car?
Three factors matter most:
- the raw materials used for the battery;
- the energy mix of the country where the car is used;
- how much energy the car uses while driving.
Comparing the carbon footprint of petrol and electric cars
How do petrol and electric cars differ?
Electric cars usually have a smaller carbon footprint than petrol cars. They cause few or no direct emissions while driving. But making the battery also causes emissions.
What do petrol cars emit besides CO₂?
Petrol cars also emit harmful substances, such as nitrogen oxides, fine dust and hydrocarbons. These harm the air and human health.
What can you do to cut the carbon footprint of cars?
To cut the carbon footprint of cars, support electric mobility and energy from renewable sources. Invest in public transport and other alternative ways to travel.
How does battery production affect the carbon footprint of an electric car?
Which materials are used to make electric car batteries?
Electric car batteries use many raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which affect the carbon footprint. It is also important to check the conditions in which these materials are mined.
Why does battery recycling matter?
Battery recycling helps to cut the carbon footprint of electric cars. It recovers valuable materials and reduces the harm to the environment.
Is battery production good for the environment?
Battery production has problems: emissions and the mining of raw materials. But in the long term, electric cars have a smaller carbon footprint than petrol cars.
How do you include the life cycle of a vehicle in its carbon footprint?
What does it mean to include the whole life cycle of a vehicle?
It means that you analyse the emissions from production, through use, to disposal. You need to look at each part of the process to see the full effect on the environment.
Which life cycle stages of a vehicle matter most?
Production of the car and the use phase, above all the source of energy, have the largest effect on the carbon footprint. So cutting emissions at these stages matters most.
Which strategies can cut the carbon footprint of vehicles?
To cut the carbon footprint of vehicles, develop electric mobility and public transport. Also use renewable and greener materials to make cars.
How do energy sources affect the carbon footprint of an electric car?
Do electric cars run on renewable energy?
Cars charged with renewable energy have a much smaller carbon footprint than cars charged with power from coal or gas. So it is important to develop clean energy for transport.
How does the energy mix affect the carbon footprint of vehicles?
When you can choose between sources, pick cleaner ones, such as solar, wind or hydro power. This cuts the carbon footprint of transport.
Which alternative energy sources can cut the carbon footprint of transport?
Alternative energy sources, such as hydrogen or geothermal energy, have a large potential to cut the carbon footprint of transport.
How can EXERGY help with the carbon footprint of transport?
We have calculated carbon footprints of companies and products since 2017.
We analyse greenhouse gas emissions over the whole life cycle, from production and use to transport and logistics. So you can see the real effect of your business and products on the climate.
We use the four-eyes principle.
Two experts work on each project: one does the analysis, the other checks the data. This removes errors and keeps the quality of our work high.
We analyse data with the LCA method.
We find the stages of your business and logistics that cause the largest environmental footprint, and show you how to reduce it.
We calculate emissions under the GHG Protocol and ISO 14067.
We include emissions in Scopes 1, 2 and 3, including energy, transport and the supply chain. Our reports are ready to use in sustainability reporting.
