Evaluating Carbon Emissions: A Lifecycle Comparison Between Electric and Conventional Vehicles

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A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

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en

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World Electric Vehicle Journal, Volume 16, issue 5

Abstract

Due to global warming, ozone depletion and their ramifications on the Arctic and Antarctic snowscapes, there has been an incentivized drive towards net zero-carbon emission policies by several countries. These policies extend to several sectors, including several manufacturing and processing industries and transportation, which are a few of their notable stakeholders. In the transportation sector, this journey towards net zero-carbon emissions is aided by the adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) due to their zero-carbon emissions during operation. However, they might have zero running emissions, but they do have emissions when charging through conventional sources. This research paper looks at the carbon emissions produced by both electric vehicles (EVs) and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles during their operational stages and compares them based on a 200,000 km driving range, battery manufacturing emissions and different power production alternatives to draw up some very important recommendations. The analysis presented in this paper helps in drawing conclusions and proposes ideas which, when included in transport policies, will help curb global warming and eventually lead to the sustainable development of the transport sector. The analysis in this study shows that the emissions needed to produce a single battery unit have increased by approximately 258.7% with the change in battery production locations. Furthermore, charging EVs with a fossil-fuel-dominated grid has shown an increase in emissions of 17.98% compared to the least emissive ICE car considered in the study. Finally, policy update recommendations which are essential for the sustainable development of the transport sector are discussed.

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Publisher Copyright: © 2025 by the authors.

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Malik, F H, Ayadi, W, Hussain, G A, Haider, Z M, Alkhatib, F & Lehtonen, M 2025, 'Evaluating Carbon Emissions: A Lifecycle Comparison Between Electric and Conventional Vehicles', World Electric Vehicle Journal, vol. 16, no. 5, 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj16050287