Fueling a Clean Transportation Future

The report analyzes the climate impact of electric vehicles (EVs) based on the electricity sources used for charging across different U.S. regions. It finds that while EVs generally produce fewer emissions than gasoline cars, their full potential depends on decarbonizing the power grid by shifting from coal and natural gas to renewable energy. The document also highlights the inherent efficiency of electric drive and the synergistic potential between EVs and renewable energy integration.

• Electric vehicles (EVs) are significantly more energy-efficient than internal combustion engine vehicles. According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), EVs can travel more than three times farther than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles using the same amount of energy, leading to an adopted energy-economy ratio of 3.4.
• The global warming emissions of an EV depend on the regional electricity grid used for charging. Charging an EV on the average U.S. grid produces approximately half the emissions of a gasoline-powered car, while cleaner grids can reduce this to one-third. Even in coal-heavy regions like Colorado, EVs remain cleaner than typical gasoline vehicles.
• Battery EV manufacturing results in higher initial emissions than gasoline vehicles, but these are offset quickly through use. For the two most popular battery EVs, these excess manufacturing emissions are offset within 6 to 16 months of driving.
• The U.S. electricity sector is transitioning away from coal, with its share of generation falling from 57 percent in the late 1980s to less than 40 percent in 2014. While natural gas has replaced much of this capacity, the report argues that overreliance on natural gas is insufficient to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
• A transition to a grid powered by 80 percent renewable energy would allow EVs to cut emissions by more than 80 percent compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, reducing annual emissions for a typical vehicle to about 0.7 metric tons of CO2e.
• EVs and renewable energy provide mutual benefits; battery EVs can act as energy storage to help balance the grid through "smart charging" during periods of high renewable generation, and can potentially provide power back to the grid in vehicle-to-grid arrangements.
• Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles complement battery EVs by offering faster refueling and higher energy storage capacity for heavier vehicles. They have an energy economy ratio of 2.5, meaning they travel 2.5 times farther than gasoline cars on the same amount of energy.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). Fueling a Clean Transportation Future. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Electricity.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Fueling a Clean Transportation Future. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Electricity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Fueling a Clean Transportation Future |date=February 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Electricity.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017fueling, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Fueling a Clean Transportation Future}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Electricity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }