Are Electric Cars Actually Better for the Environment?

Slowly but steadily, Australians have increasingly been adopting Electric Vehicles as we become more environmentally conscious as a society. More and more Australians are choosing to Sell Cars for Cash to Wreckers.

So, which is more environmentally-friendly: Electric Cars or fuel-driven cars? It’s a no brainer, right? Well, it’s not quite as simple as you might think. Although electric cars don’t have any fuel-pipe CO₂ emissions, there are still many factors at play that affect both types of car’s CO₂ emissions. Let’s take a closer look.

Electric Cars Vs Conventional Cars – Who Produces the Most CO_2­?

It’s true, Electric Cars have zero-emissions on road. A car with a fuel economy of 10L/100 km will emit about 23 Kg of carbon monoxide for a 100 km drive, since combustion per litre of petrol emits about 2.3 kg of CO_2­.  However, being Electric Cars, their electricity still has to be produced somewhere – a process which causes carbon monoxide emissions. 

When considering the fuel lifecycle of electric cars, The Green Car guide considers the emissions that take place in both the production of fuel as well as combustion.

For example, they found that a small electric car such as BNM i3 (BMW I01 i3 i3s BEV 120Ah Pure Electric, 1 Spd Other, 4-door 4-seat Sedan, 2WD) which was released in 2019, has lifecycle fuel emissions up to 130 g/km of carbon monoxide.

Compare this to another small car, such as the Toyota Corolla (2L 4cyl Petrol 91RON, 1 Spd CVT, 4-door 5-seat Hatch, 2WD), with 163 g/km of carbon monoxide.

Here, the conventional car emits more CO₂ but not significantly. A hybrid Toyota Corolla (1.8L 4cyl Electric/Petrol 91RON, 1 Spd CVT, 4-door 5-seat Hatch, 2WD) has the lowest lifecycle CO₂ emissions among the 3 cars looked at with only 101 g/km.

What Effects Electric Car’s Emissions – And How They Can Decrease

As we mentioned, the production of electricity for electric cars creates CO₂ emissions. The actual rate of emissions will vary from state to state, with Tasmania having the lowest rate. The reason being is that 90 percent of Tasmania’s electricity comes from hydro-electric generation, which means that electric cars are much more environmentally-friendly in Tasmania due to cleaner production of electricity. Compare this with New South Wales where over 80 percent of electricity is produced by coal.

How Electric Cars Can Be the Undisputed Green Alternative

An increasing amount of European countries use renewable energy to generate their electricity for the home or in industrial use. For example, Sweden, Luxembourg, Croatia and Austria use renewables for over 50 percent of their electricity. Electric vehicles will be an important factor in reducing carbon monoxide emissions, but clean and renewable energy will also have to be utilized in the process. 

The Australian government promises to cut emissions by 50% by 2030, and renewable energy will play an important role – both for electric cars and other industries. So, it is expected that many Australian car owners will choose to sell their old cars and get a Free Car Removal in Melbourne for them, and move on to electric cars as a green alternative.