Replacing a combustion-engine vehicle – even if it is in good condition – with an electric one has long-term climate benefits, according to a study
One of the main strategies for mitigating CO₂ emissions is the electrification of vehicles. Although taking vehicles that are still in good condition off the road has an environmental impact, a study published in the journal Science has shown that replacing them with battery electric vehicles brings long-term benefits, even when taking into account the emissions resulting from their manufacture. To address this issue, the authors estimated the life-cycle CO₂ emissions associated with keeping a combustion-engine vehicle in use, compared with scrapping it early and replacing it with an electric vehicle. The results show that the carbon footprint of manufacturing the new vehicle is reduced, as electric cars emit only a third of the greenhouse gases produced by combustion-engine vehicles.
Antonio García Martínez - coches eléctricos agosto
Antonio García
Senior Lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia and researcher at the CMT – Clean Mobility & Thermofluids University Research Institute
My initial impression is that this is a methodologically sound and well-executed study designed to answer the question posed, but I believe its conclusions should be interpreted with caution. The analysis focuses exclusively on minimising future CO₂ emissions and treats the manufacturing emissions of the combustion-engine vehicle as a ‘sunk cost’, which is correct from the perspective of decision theory.
However, it overlooks aspects that are relevant from the perspective of the circular economy, such as the continued use of a fully functional vehicle, the consumption of material resources, or the embodied energy in its manufacture. Furthermore, its conclusions rely on a very strong assumption: that the combustion-engine vehicle is permanently withdrawn from the vehicle fleet and is no longer used on the second-hand market. I believe these limitations should be borne in mind when communicating the findings to the general public.
Mikel González - coches eléctricos agosto
Mikel González
This article, published in the journal Science, demonstrates that the early replacement of fossil-fuel vehicles with electric vehicles is highly beneficial in terms of emissions in almost all cases and contexts. Regardless of the remaining useful life of the fossil-fuel vehicle, the electricity mix, the efficiency of fossil-fuel and electric vehicles, and the emissions from the manufacture of the vehicles and batteries, emissions over the entire life cycle are significantly reduced. In the extreme case where the fossil-fuel vehicle were taken off the road in its second year, emissions over the entire life cycle would be reduced by 44 per cent.
The article has interesting public policy implications, as it shows that it makes sense to continue supporting, through subsidies, the replacement of fossil-fuel vehicles with electric vehicles if the aim is to accelerate decarbonisation; however, this does not apply to the replacement of old combustion-engine vehicles with new ones, a point also highlighted in the article.
Campbell et al.
- Peer reviewed
- Research article
