Update on the Life-Cycle GHG Emissions of Passenger Vehicles: Literature Review and Harmonization

Marco Raugei ()
Additional contact information
Marco Raugei: School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley Campus, Oxford OX33 1HX, UK

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: Passenger vehicles are responsible for significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which calls for accurate and up-to-date estimates of the comparative emissions of the main types of alternative power trains, to enable evidence-based policy recommendations. This paper provides a systematic review and harmonization of the recent scientific literature on this topic. The results show that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represent the most promising option to decarbonize the passenger vehicle fleet in all considered world regions, with up to −70% reductions in GHG emissions possible, vs. conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) running on petrol. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs and PHEVs) are less effective strategies, but they may be useful in bridging the gap between ICEVs and BEVs, especially in those markets that are harder to electrify quickly. Finally, fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) may also be a viable option, but only if the hydrogen fuel is produced via water electrolysis using renewable energy.

Keywords: passenger vehicles; electric vehicles; fuel cell vehicles; life cycle assessment; carbon footprint; greenhouse gas emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/19/7163/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/19/7163/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:19:p:7163-:d:928707

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().