Are EVs Better on Emissions? — Comparative Calculations




In a recent article in The New Climate published on Medium, a comment by Mark Krauss asked three questions aimed at determining if EVs are really better or not when it comes to carbon. I’m going to try to answer his questions here. But first, here are the questions from @mark.krauss21 in his own words: What is the carbon footprint of an equivalent-sized electric vehicle driven 15,000 miles per year based on the daily charge rate required in kilowatt-hours converted to ppm produced by the most commonly used type of power plant?

First, let’s get the terminology right because it can be confusing. Ppm is “parts per million” and is a measure of the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere. The higher the number, the worse our situation has become regarding climate change. Pre-industrial carbon levels were at about 280 ppm; today we are near 420 ppm. That difference is why we have climate change. The carbon acts like glass in a greenhouse by reflecting and holding the heat. Everything warms up, and the climate changes. More importantly to Mark’s question, ppm is not a measure that can be assigned to a car, a plane, or a power plant. It is a measure of total carbon in the atmosphere. Instead of ppm, therefore, we measure the carbon coming out of the tailpipe of a car or a smokestack by weight. That is a relatively easy measure to obtain.