According to a new study, it is preferable to keep an old gas-powered car rather than trade it in for a new all-electric model. This is due to the fact that there will be more vehicles on the road following the swap. The manufacture of electric vehicles also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The average person keeps the same car for seven years, and the study suggests keeping it for ten percent longer to significantly reduce emissions.
The debate over green vehicles frequently focuses on fuel efficiency and alternative fuels, with the faster the transition to alternative fuels, the better for the environment. According to a new study, keeping and driving existing fuel-efficient cars for a little longer can actually reduce CO2 emissions, even in gasoline cars. As a result, a gradual transition and policies that encourage a shift in consumption patterns are critical for lowering overall emissions.
As countries race to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change, the discussion about green vehicles frequently focuses on fuel efficiency and alternative fuels such as electricity and hydrogen. One widely held belief is that the faster the transition, the better for the environment.
The more quickly a car is replaced, the more CO2 it emits. It’s no different with electric vehicles, because as demand for new vehicles grows, so do manufacturing emissions.
Shigemi Kagawa
A new study of car use in Japan reveals that, even with gasoline vehicles, keeping and using cars with good fuel efficiency for longer periods of time can reduce CO2 emissions significantly more than an accelerated transition to alternative fuel vehicles.
“The more quickly a car is replaced, the more CO2 it emits. It’s no different with electric vehicles, because as demand for new vehicles grows, so do manufacturing emissions “Shigemi Kagawa, the study’s leader and a professor at Kyushu University’s Faculty of Economics.
Car replacement is especially rapid in Japan, where people outlive their vehicles but cars do not. A car’s average life expectancy is about thirteen years, from the time it is born in a factory to the time it is scrapped. Furthermore, the average first-owner ownership of a new car is seven years.
The island nation’s mass-production, mass-consumption economy, as well as its costly vehicle inspection system, are largely to blame for these trends. While these may help to get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road, Kagawa explains that in order to maximize carbon reductions, we must carefully examine the supply chain.
“A car’s carbon footprint extends far beyond the fuel it consumes. Iron, nuts, and bolts for construction, factories for assembly, and mega-containerships for transportation are required to produce alternative fuel cars intended to reduce emissions from driving. CO2 is produced at every stage of the supply chain.”
According to a new study, it is preferable to keep an old gas-powered car rather than trade it in for a new all-electric model. This is due to the fact that there will be more vehicles on the road following the swap. The manufacture of electric vehicles also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The average person keeps the same car for seven years, and the study suggests keeping it for ten percent longer to significantly reduce emissions. About forty percent of Japan’s total greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to cars, with the remaining twenty-four percent due to gasoline combustion from driving new cars.
“Our hypothesis is that driving current internal combustion engine vehicles for a little longer while transitioning to green vehicles is a viable strategy to help the environment,” Kagawa says. Kagawa’s group used economic statistics to conduct a case study of newly registered and used cars in Japan between 1990 and 2016. The group simulated how car owners’ replacement behavior affects their carbon footprint.
According to their calculations, if cars were kept on the road for 10% longer before being scrapped, the cumulative carbon footprint of cars would have decreased by 30.7 million tonnes, or 1%, during this time period.
This is due to the fact that the reduction in manufacturing emissions more than offsets the additional emissions produced by existing cars. Furthermore, the study discovers that a similar one percent reduction in carbon footprint would be realized if owners of new cars drove their vehicles for ten percent longer.
In this case, keeping more cars in the hands of their original owners for longer periods of time reduces the number of used cars on the road. As a result, emissions from driving new, relatively fuel-efficient cars rise while those from driving used, relatively fuel-inefficient cars fall.
“This means that we can reduce CO2 emissions simply by keeping and driving cars longer,” Kagawa concludes. “Furthermore, the effect is amplified if the car we keep is relatively new and fuel-efficient. So, the next time you consider buying a new car, consider whether your current vehicle has a few more kilometers on it.”
