Reality Check: More EVs Can Mean Fewer Emissions

This RMI fact sheet argues that electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States currently produce significantly fewer emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles and that 'smart charging' can further reduce these emissions by aligning charging with periods of cleaner energy availability.

• In the United States, electric vehicles currently generate approximately 60–68 percent fewer emissions compared to vehicles powered by diesel or gasoline.
• The implementation of smart charging—using technology like Automated Emissions Reduction (AER) to sync charging with cleaner energy periods—can reduce emissions by an additional 18 percent and allow EVs to serve as a grid resource.
• If 70 million EVs are on the road, the use of emissions-optimized smart charging would result in emission reductions equivalent to removing 5.73 million internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles from the road.
• Emissions savings can be maximized by optimizing charging based on local grid mixes and marginal emissions; for instance, charging in the Midwest is often more effective in the evening due to wind power, while charging in California is more effective during the day due to solar power.
• To meet climate goals, the United States needs approximately 70 million EVs on the road by the end of the decade, alongside a decrease in total vehicle miles traveled.

APA

RMI (2022). Reality Check: More EVs Can Mean Fewer Emissions. https://rmi.org/resources/reality-check-more-evs-can-mean-fewer-emissions/

Chicago

RMI. Reality Check: More EVs Can Mean Fewer Emissions. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/reality-check-more-evs-can-mean-fewer-emissions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Reality Check: More EVs Can Mean Fewer Emissions |date=8 March 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/reality-check-more-evs-can-mean-fewer-emissions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022reality, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Reality Check: More EVs Can Mean Fewer Emissions}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/reality-check-more-evs-can-mean-fewer-emissions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }