Have the CO2 emissions from electric cars been calculated far too low? A heated argument has broken out among scientists about this.
A debate has broken out among scientists about the carbon footprint of electric cars.
In an open letter, Professor Thomas Koch from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and colleagues from the EU Commission accused a fundamental calculation error. Professor Christian Rehtanz from TU Dortmund University criticized this on Tuesday: “The letter is extremely embarrassing. It is a scientifically disguised lobbyist letter, which tries desperately to save the piston machines (chair denomination of Prof. Koch of the KIT). ”
Professor Martin Wietschel from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research wrote in an article for the Science Media Center that Koch asked whether the total CO2 emissions of the electricity mix should be used for the electricity consumed by e-cars, or the CO2 emissions Output of the limit current mix, i.e. additionally required electricity. There are “arguments for both positions”. However, the scientific standard is the use of average emissions. Because limit current emissions could not be clearly assigned. In addition, e-cars could serve as flexible storage for excess wind and solar energy in the future.
Koch and other scientists had criticized that the CO2 emissions from electrical consumers would be calculated far too low using a simplified mean value approach. Patrick Jochem from the German Aerospace Center wrote: “The article picks up on a valid point”, but falls short at one point. Because e-cars could accelerate the energy transition in electricity generation and lead to negative marginal emissions, “especially if e-cars are integrated into the energy system as mobile storage devices”.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
