The CO2 Effectiveness of E-MobilityMareike Hack

29 May 2020

Climate change and the associated increase of greenhouse gas emissions constitute some of the biggest challenges of the 21^st century. Electric vehicles (EV) are currently one of the main objects of attention with the potential to reduce GHG emissions essentially. However, the extent of the positive impact on the climate of EVs is controversially discussed in research. The subject of the potential climate impact of e-mobility has been addressed by various studies. The quantification of the strengths and weaknesses of the studies is mostly measured by the approach of life cycle assessment (LCA). It is challenging to compare the existing studies due to their different basic assumptions such as scope, regional context, system boundaries, or database. Therefore, the results vary significantly.
This thesis provides a literature review about LCAs that comprehensibly analyzes the existing literature on the CO₂ impact of e-mobility in terms of key drivers that lead to different results. By the application of this methodology, the examined studies are structured and reduced to comprehensible clusters that lead to a facilitated identification of limitations and advantages of the literature. This approach helps to clarify whether all of the analyzed studies dealing with the CO₂ effectiveness of e-mobility come to similar results or whether there are significant differences, inconsistencies, or even contradictions. The key question is how to make robust statements about the climate impact of e-vehicles when LCA-literature consists of divergent results.