Carbon Footprint Reduction with the Adoption of the Electricity-Powered Vehicles

Olumide A. Towoju

Abstract


In the quest to reduce the global carbon footprints, many national governments are adopting the electricity-powered vehicle over conventional vehicles. However, this does not necessarily translate to a reduction of CO2 emission, as the source of the electricity utilized for the charging/recharging of such vehicles plays a significant contribution to its emission rate. This study looks at selected economies in six different continents and the Middle East to estimate the electric vehicle adoption and CO2 emission (kg/kWh) benchmark to make them greener than the conventional vehicles. At the current state of the emission from the conventional automobiles, CO2 emission per kWh of generated electricity is assumed to be below 0.5495 kg for the electric vehicles to be greener, and for a matured synthetic fuel technology below 0.1923 kg. The estimates show that to ensure a transition to the adoption of electricity powered vehicles in Bangladesh and Africa, a shift in electricity generation to clean renewable sources is required.

Keywords


CO2 emission; conventional automobiles; electric vehicles; global warming; greenhouse gas

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References


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