Al-Habaibeh, A

Milev, G

English

Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep)

04/06/2020 If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%https://theconversation.com/if-all-cars-were-electric-uk-carbon-emissions-would-drop-by-12-139155 1/3AuthorsGeorge MilevPhD Researcher, Nottingham TrentUniversityAmin Al-HabaibehProfessor of Intelligent EngineeringSystems, Nottingham Trent UniversityAcademic rigour, journalistic flairThe COVID-19 lockdown has led to reduced pollution and emissions in the UK and around the world, providing a clear indication of how cars affect air quality andcarbon emissions. But such a change is only temporary – millions of petrol cars arewaiting for restrictions to ease. Then, higher levels of emissions will resume.But what if they didn’t? What if all cars switched to electric overnight? We recently published a peer-reviewed conference paper looking at the emissions impact for sucha switch in Scotland alone, and have now extended our analysis to the whole of theUK for a forthcoming publication. We found that if the UK’s cars went entirelyelectric its total carbon emissions would be cut by almost 12%.It’s a hypothetical scenario, but not total fantasy. The UK government plans to banthe sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 and aims to bring all greenhouse gasesto net-zero by 2050. We are still some way off: though there were 39 million vehicleson UK roads last year, just 27,000 new electric vehicles were registered. But theswitch will happen, eventually.Electric cars are not even a particularly new technology – at the end of 19th century, 90% of the taxisin New York were electric. But Henry Ford and others soon figured out how to mass produce internalnrqemi / shutterstockIf all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would dropby 12%May 29, 2020 12.50pm BST04/06/2020 If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%https://theconversation.com/if-all-cars-were-electric-uk-carbon-emissions-would-drop-by-12-139155 2/3combustion engine cars at affordable costs, and changed our sense of “normal” car technology.This is a shame for many reasons, not least because electric cars are much simpler in design: theysimply consist of electric motors, a battery and a controller. This removes the complexity of movingmechanical parts in the internal combustion engine and associated technology, and themanufacturing energy needed to produce each part. Hence, the carbon footprint of manufacturingboth cars are not significantly different, although electric cars require slightly more carbon to producedue to the battery.How we got the 12% figureBut the biggest difference in carbon footprint between petrol and electric cars comes from drivingitself.To reach the 12% figure we first gathered data on the distance an average car covers in the UK eachyear, the combination of car models and technologies (diesel, petrol and electric) with their respectivemarket share and carbon emission per mileage. This gave us the current scenario. We then comparedthis to the situation if all cars were to become electric, and emissions per mile reduced. We consideredall the fully-electric cars currently used in the UK (including the Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf, JaguariPace, and more) and assumed the same market segment for each model.But what of all the extra electricity needed to power those cars, wouldn’t that add some extraemissions? Technically, we found that the switch to electric cars would save 14% from the total carbonemissions. However it would also cause an increase in carbon emissions from electricity powerstations equivalent to about 2% of total national emissions (assuming current mix of fossil and renewable energy sources).What if all these cars went electric? Jaroslaw Kilian / shutterstock04/06/2020 If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%https://theconversation.com/if-all-cars-were-electric-uk-carbon-emissions-would-drop-by-12-139155 3/3Climate change Cars Carbon emissions Electric carsAdding the reduction in driving emissions, and subtracting the extra electricity generation emissionsmeans that, in all, the UK would emit 42 million tonnes less of CO₂ into the atmosphere each year – a12% reduction on the 351.5 million tonnes emitted in total last year.Petrol also has to be drilled and shipped to the UK from around the world, unlike wind and sun (forelectricity) or even natural gas (again for electricity) which is easier to transport. Therefore we wouldsee further savings if we took into account the expected reduction of carbon emissions from the fuelsupply chain, but quantifying this value is difficult as so much of it happens outside the UK. Recyclingelectric car batteries would also save carbon, but again this is difficult to quantify as the technology ofbatteries and recycling is improving all the time. But even without these factors, our findings areencouraging and show just how much impact the switch to electric cars could have.The real environmental benefits would go beyond just reducing emissions. Electric cars would alsoreduce air pollution, particularly in busy cities, supporting healthier living. By increasing the demandfor electricity, they could also promote the development of renewable energy, while cars could even beused as a sort-of “collective battery” to provide a buffer and balance electricity supply and demand.There is always a catch: for now, electric cars still need significant time to be charged, and needsignificant energy to heat the car in cold weather. But we think our new research adds to the evidencethat, overall, the benefits significantly outweigh the costs.

If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%

http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/39938/1/1331215_Al-Habaibeh.pdf

If all cars were electric, UK carbon emissions would drop by 12%

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