When comparing electric vehicles (EVs) to gas-powered vehicles, most studies have focused on the electricity or fuel consumed while driving, and where those fuels come from. But a European study, published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology on October 4, provided a full lifecycle analysis that took into account not only the so-called “use phase,” but also the “production” (manufacturing) and “end-of-life” (disposal and recycling) phases. The results were dismaying.

The researchers found that in some ways, or in some circumstances, EVs are more polluting than gas-powered vehicles. But few reporters who covered the study explained those distinctions clearly, producing short stories that portrayed EVs as an unqualified “threat” to the environment instead.

What tripped up many reporters was the conclusion that while the majority of all vehicles’ “global warming potential” (i.e. direct or indirect greenhouse gas emissions) comes from their use phase, EVs produce twice the warming potential of gas-powered vehicles during the production phase. For instance, a CBS station in Connecticut reported that EVs produce twice the global-warming potential overall, but that’s not true. In fact, they usually counter the excesses of the production phase during the use phase—all the more so the longer they’re driven.

According to study, when powered by “average European electricity,” EVs have 20-24 percent less warming potential over their lifetime than gas-powered vehicles, and 12 percent less when powered by electricity made from natural gas. It’s only when powered by electricity from coal that EVs have 17-27 percent more warming potential. The conclusion that the “dirtiest” types of electricity erase EVs’ advantage is similar to one reached by the Union of Concerned Scientists back in April. But then, as now, gotcha-oriented coverage belied the fact that EVs are generally better than gas-powered vehicles where global warming is concerned. [Update: The author of the UCS’s April report wrote a helpful analysis of the European study that calculated that even when taking its conclusions about production into consideration, EVs are still a net positive for the climate.]

Full post: http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/electric_vehicles_versus_gas_p.php?page=all