UCS has been reporting on EV emissions since 2012, and during that time, emissions from electricity generation have fallen significantly as coal use has declined and renewable energy has expanded. However, missing data is complicating this year's analysis. Learn more in UCS's Dave Reichmuth's blog:
EPA Stopped Updating the Data Behind Electric Vehicle Emissions. The Numbers Still Show EVs are Winners - Union of Concerned Scientists
There is no question about the impact that EVs will have on reducing climate-changing emissions. Replacing gasoline with electricity greatly reduces carbon emissions from driving, even when emissions from generating electricity are included. Based on where EVs have been sold, driving the average electric vehicle in the US produces heat-trapping emissions equal to a hypothetical 100 mile per gallon gasoline car, or about one quarter of the emissions from driving the average new gasoline vehicle. Building an EV does take more energy than building a gasoline car, mostly because of the battery, but our previous lifecycle analysis found the average EV makes up that difference in under 18,000 miles of driving and still produces less than half the lifetime emissions of a comparable gasoline car.
blog.ucs.org
