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No, this story is not just another story pointing out that the carbon balance is unfriendly to EVs if they are powered with dirty fuel. This is a little different. A group of researchers in Finland (similar to Norway, but on the opposite side of Sweden) is trying to figure out what prevents people from owning an EV so they can develop social engineering programs to overcome those barriers. We conducted research to make this possible. What they happened to discover is that people who own EVs now have a higher carbon footprint than their compatriots who drive internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). Oops.
big paradox
Important facts are revealed at the beginning of the report. This is in the preface summary, where the authors state that “Finnish EV owners are more financially stable, own more cars, drive more and have a higher average household carbon footprint than the general population. ” he wrote. The fact that EV owners have a larger carbon footprint is later reiterated, analyzed and commented on by the authors.
Why do EV drivers have a higher carbon footprint?
Researchers say the larger driver footprint of electric vehicles is not because EVs emit more carbon dioxide than ICEVs. This is only true if the electricity being charged is carbon-intensive (coal). The reason, they say, is that people who own EVs are wealthier and lead more carbon-intensive lifestyles overall. To be clear, if you defended EVs and posted a comment below this article saying, “EVs are certainly cleaner than ICEVs,” no one would argue with you. You are completely missing the point.
What was the point of your research again?
So rather than trying to translate the intent of the study, here is exactly what the researchers say.
“Facilitating the transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs should be supported by policy makers aiming to reduce emissions from vehicle use. To design policies and interventions to increase the uptake of EVs, With this objective in mind, we need information on how people perceive electric vehicles and what are the real and perceived barriers to their adoption. We looked at who EV owners are and how they compare to the general population. We also looked at actual barriers to EV adoption, as well as potential and misunderstood barriers. , we sought to identify the factors that influence EV purchase intentions.”
We do not endorse their opinions or goals. I’m just listing what they say.
What paradox did the researchers encounter?
Here’s the interesting part of the study:
“Participants in EV households had an average carbon footprint of 8.66 tkg CO2e (SD = 3.62), participants in households with non-EV cars had a slightly lower average of 8.05 tkg CO2e (SD = 3.01), and The average participant carbon footprint for households without was significantly lower at 5.75 tkg CO2e.
To paraphrase the study, this means that EV owners lead lifestyles that produce slightly more carbon than owners of conventionally powered vehicles. No less. If you look at the entire study, you can find this in the fourth paragraph, section 3.4. The study authors had no choice but to downplay this important finding. To temper the fact that EV owners emit more carbon, they state that “post-hoc analysis demonstrated that the differences between participants in EV and ICEV households were not statistically significant.” ” he added. The study authors acknowledge that owners of high-performance EVs have a much higher carbon footprint than owners of mainstream EV models. A graph helps explain this.
Other research results
Here are some findings drawn directly from the story:
“Current EV users can still be considered early adopters of technology, but they are more interested in technology, less concerned with ease of use, often own multiple vehicles, and are economically They are often wealthy, middle-aged men who value the symbolic attributes of electric vehicles: the car ownership and social status that EVs bring.” “…Today’s EV households generally have stable high prices. Although they are in a financially secure position with their income, the situation for other car owners and carless households is more diverse: EV owners pay more for their next vehicle than other participants. “The reduced cost of EVs has made them a viable option for more households, but their higher cost compared to used ICEVs remains a major deterrent for many. “The majority (70.9%) of current EV households own more than one car, while only 37.4% of non-EV households own an additional car.” “These results indicate that current EV owners are heavy car users and their driving habits are not as good as non-EV owners.” ” “…also, the low running costs and enjoyable driving experience of EVs may encourage some users to continue driving, even if the driving is non-essential or was previously done in an active form.” Even if you do, you may be tempted to drive more after switching to an EV. Such actions will have a negative impact on the environment.
What does a study of the American market reveal about its carbon footprint?
The US is not Finland, so does this study actually apply to the American lifestyle and the adoption of EVs in the US? One Harvard University researcher found that to be true. Among her findings: “If you’re someone who drives a fair amount, you’re likely suitable for driving an electric vehicle,” the author says. “On the other hand, if you rarely drive and often keep your car in your garage, you may counterintuitively be better off owning a gasoline-powered car.” The researchers also found that “U.S. Not only is money flowing to the rich, but the average price per new EV is still nearly $12,000 higher than a fossil fuel-powered one in 2022, as well as tax credits (in 2023). “We found that the amount was up to $7,500.” It may encourage the wrong buyers. Many people end up increasing their carbon footprint. “Oops.
According to an article published by PBS, transportation is the number one source of carbon dioxide emissions for Americans (on average), and it comes in second place, not first place. If you want to read content that directly links residential carbon production to transportation carbon production, you might be interested in these two stories. Thank you for reading.
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If you would like to add a comment to this story, please note that the comments section is back and in bold red text at the bottom of the page.
I put a link to the study in the body of the article, but I’ll post it here again in case you missed it. Please also omit this quote: Sandman N, Sahari E, Koponen A (2024) But can you drive to Lapland? Electric car owners to identify attitudes, concerns and barriers to electric car adoption in Finland. and the general population. Proscrime 3(10): e0000346.
John Gorham is a certified New England Automotive Writers Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles and then spent 20 years working in high tech, biopharmaceutical, and automotive supply chains before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. In addition to his 11 years at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews in American news organizations. He is known for offering his unfiltered opinions on automotive topics. You can connect with John and follow his work on Linkedin. our x channel. Please note that John’s signed articles are in no way generated by AI, but do use Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading.
Image of a family with a battery electric vehicle (Courtesy of Jaguar US Media). Graph courtesy of journal.pols.org and study authors.
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