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Decarbonizing mobility: Thoughts on an unresolved challenge

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  • Buchal, Christoph
  • Sinn, Hans-Werner

Abstract

Mobility and freight transportation are of worldwide importance. Presently they rely almost exclusively on fossil fuels. The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Protection calls for a drastic reduction of the associated CO2 emissions. As a prime choice for emission reduction of cars, presently battery-powered electrical vehicles (BEV) are widely favored. By law, the European Union uniformly classified all BEV as zero-CO2-emission vehicles, completely ignoring the source of the electrical energy and the very significant emissions due to battery fabrication. In order to expose this misleading regulation, we take a closer look at the CO2 footprint of a sedan BEV, if charged from the German grid, and compare this BEV to a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE), running on Diesel fuel. If a large BEV is equipped with a heavy, long-range battery and if this BEV is charged from the German grid, we find no CO2 reduction for a run of 200 000 km, if compared to a modern Diesel engine. We offer some thoughts on a more detailed and proper analysis of future mobility concepts, the respective pros and cons, and on some of the alternative developments.

Suggested Citation

  • Buchal, Christoph & Sinn, Hans-Werner, 2019. "Decarbonizing mobility: Thoughts on an unresolved challenge," Munich Reprints in Economics 78213, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:78213
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    Cited by:

    1. Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso, 2020. "The Tax Incentives in the IVTM and “Eco-Friendly Cars”: The Spanish Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-29, April.

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