https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13916505/Electric-car-HIGHER-carbon-footprint.html
- Electric vehicle owners have a larger average carbon footprint than other drivers
- Researchers say the average electric vehicle owner is richer and more educated
Electric cars have slowly but surely become the ultimate status symbol for Hollywood’s eco-minded elite, with everyone from Robert Downey Jr. to Kim Kardashian jumping in on the trend.
But scientists now say that getting behind the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV) doesn’t make these celebs as green as they might like to think.
Researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, found that on average EV drivers actually have a bigger carbon footprint than drivers who own petrol or diesel cars.
While their cars might cut down on emissions, the researchers say that EV owners’ glitzier lifestyles mean they contribute more to climate change overall.
The average EV owner churns out half a tonne more CO2 per year with owners of the sportiest models producing almost two tonnes more pollution.
Electric vehicles (EV) might be the ultimate status symbol for Hollywood’s eco-minded elite, but a new study shows that EV owners actually have a bigger carbon footprint
The researchers surveyed almost 4,000 Finnish people about their car ownership, background and lifestyle.
The participants also provided answers about their housing, transport, and purchasing habits to estimate their carbon footprint.
Overall, someone who owned an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) which runs on petrol or diesel created 8.05 tonnes of CO2 or equivalent greenhouse gases per year.
Considering that environmental concerns are a major reason for purchasing an electric vehicle you might expect EV owners’ emissions to be lower.
However, the average EV driver actually has a slightly larger carbon footprint than those who opt for cars powered by fossil fuels, producing 8.66 tonnes of emissions per year.
The researchers also noticed that there was a big difference between the two types of EV owners.
EV owners who said they were most concerned with the economy and reliability of their cars produced much less pollution – contributing just 7.59 tonnes per year.
Owners who said they were more concerned about their car’s performance on the other hand were significantly more polluting than any other group.
On average, performance-minded EV owners create 10.25 tonnes of polluting gases every year.
That gives some EV owners a carbon footprint nearly double that of those who don’t own cars – who produce just 5.75 tonnes per year.
The researchers point out that using an EV cuts down these drivers’ footprints by around 19 per cent compared to if they were using ICEVs instead.
