Battery electric vehicles are up to 69% cleaner than petrol cars, says study

There is no doubt that electric vehicles are cleaner than fossuil fuel-powered vehicles. But there have been debates about how clean are green vehicles actually. While many say the source of electricity production is hugely carbon-emitting, many others point to the coal burning in the process of metal moulding. Recent research by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) claims that EVs are cleaner by up to 69% compared to their petrol counterparts.

The study points that emissions over the lifetime of average medium-size battery electric vehicles are lower than their petrol-driven counterparts by up to 69% in Europe, 68% in the US and 45% in China and 34% in India.

According to the study, even in India and China that are heavily reliant on coal-based energy, BEVs come with life-cycle benefits. It also reveals that as the electricity production process continues to decarbonise, the life-cycle emissions gap between BEVs and petrol vehicles will increase substantially.

According to the study, only battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles powered by renewable electricity can achieve the greenhouse gas reduction level. It can substantially reduce the level of GHG emissions from the transport sector set by the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement set the goal to reduce the global warming level well below two degrees celcius.

The research compared the lifecycle GHG emissions of cars registered in 2021 with the cars expected to be registered in 2030. The analysis was conducted separately for the European Union, the US, India and China. It captured the differences among the markets that as combined account for nearly 70% of total new cars sales around the world.