Jo Lauder at ABC News (of Australia): Whether you drive an electric car or are considering making the switch, you’ve probably been drawn into a discussion about whether they are really better for the climate.
Electric cars are key to the world reducing emissions, with transport accounting for almost 20 per cent and rising, so you probably haven’t had that debate for the last time.
To save you from your next barbecue encounter, we have turned to the EV Council, which has crunched the numbers for you. We’re comparing an electric car and a traditional petrol one and looking at the life-cycle emissions — that is, all the emissions produced from cradle to grave.
For both types of car, these are the key stages where emissions are produced:
- manufacturing of the car,
- production of the battery, especially for electric cars
- running the cars over their life-cycle, either on petrol or electricity
- disposal and recycling of the vehicle at the end of its life, including batteries
We’ll also compare electric cars in different states because each state uses different amounts of fossil fuels for electricity, which affects how “clean” the car is.
To compare cars, we’ve chosen an average medium SUV, the sort of car you commonly see on Australian roads. Some examples of a medium SUV are the electric Tesla Model Y, Toyota’s RAV4 and the Mazda CX-5 on the petrol side.
So, buckle up and let’s go.
More here.
