Electromobility and climate protection

Electromobility and climate protection

The topics of climate protection and electromobility are more and more present in the current discussions worldwide. Electromobility creates a technology that can help reduce the anthropogenic influence on the climate. This article deals with electromobility and climate protection in detail, with various aspects being examined critically.

electromobility: a brief overview

Definition and types of electromobility

Electromobility refers to the use of vehicles that are completely or partially driven by electrical energy. These include pure electric cars (BEV), plug-in hybrid cars (PHEV), hybrid cars (HEV) and electrobics. In contrast to conventional vehicles that obtain their drive from fossil fuels, these vehicles rely on electrical energy that can come from different energy sources.

electromobility: state of the art

Electromobility technology has made considerable progress in recent years. Current electric cars have an increasing range and need shorter loading times. New battery technologies that enable larger energy lights and faster loading cycles are continuously researched and developed.

electromobility and climate protection

CO2 emissions and electric cars

Electromobility has the potential to make a significant contribution to climate protection. In contrast to vehicles with combustion engines, which emit CO2 in the burning of fuel, an electric car does not release any direct greenhouse gases during operation. However, CO2 emissions are created in the production of the electric cars and especially the batteries. Nevertheless, a study by the Fraunhofer Care Institute showed that electric cars expose significantly less CO2 than vehicles with combustion engines across the entire life cycle.

The influence of the electricity mix

The environmental advantage of electric cars depends heavily on the electricity mix used. If the electricity with which the batteries are loaded comes from renewable energies, the CO2 balance of an electric car is significantly better than that of a vehicle with an incinerated engine. In countries in which the electricity is largely produced with fossil fuels, the CO2 balance is less clear.

The role of politics

Promotion of electromobility

Different countries have developed strategies to promote electromobility and thus reduce CO2 emissions in the traffic sector. This includes purchase bonuses for electric cars, the expansion of the charging infrastructure and the conversion of public fleets to electromobility.

Legislation for climate protection

In addition, some countries implement climate protection laws that commit manufacturers to reduce the CO2 emissions of their vehicles. In order to reduce their average CO2 emissions, the manufacturers therefore have to sell more low-emission or emission-free vehicles.

The way to sustainable mobility

Electromobility alone is not the solution to all the challenges of climate change. Because resources are also consumed and emissions are expelled in the production of electric cars. It is therefore important to make mobility more sustainable overall. This includes measures such as promoting car sharing and public transport as well as the development of sustainable traffic concepts in the cities.

FAZIT

Electromobility is an important building block for climate protection. It has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the traffic sector. However, the contribution you can really make to climate protection depends on many factors - among other things on the electricity mix used and the way in which the batteries are made. Ultimately, electromobility should be part of a comprehensive strategy to make mobility more sustainable overall.