According to a recent study, carbon dioxide emissions have fallen significantly in parts of the US state of California due to the boom in electric cars. The scientists from the University of California in Berkeley analysed data from dozens of CO2 sensors in the San Francisco region, where electric cars are widespread. Over a period of five years, CO2 emissions fell by 1.8 per cent annually, although only almost 20 per cent of cars in San Francisco are either electric or hybrid vehicles.
The researchers compared the sensor data with vehicle registrations and came to the conclusion that the switch to electric cars has a measurable effect on the reduction of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. However, the lead author of the study, Professor Ronald Cohen, admits that the study is not representative of the whole of California, as electric cars are less popular in other parts of the state.
Can Germany learn from the Californian e-car boom or is it a pipe dream? Even if the study proves that the promotion of electric cars by local authorities can have a positive effect on the climate, it is questionable whether this is transferable to other regions such as Germany.
In Germany, the proportion of electric cars is still low. Although the German government has the ambitious goal of increasing the proportion of electric cars to 10 million by 2030, how realistic is this? The infrastructure for electric cars is still underdeveloped in Germany, and the high price of the vehicles and their limited range are further obstacles for many potential buyers.
In addition, electricity generation in Germany is still largely based on fossil fuels, which casts doubt on the environmental friendliness of electric cars. The switch to electric cars can therefore only make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions if the electricity used to power the vehicles is also generated sustainably.
Due to its favourable climate and high levels of solar radiation, California has a higher proportion of renewable energies and can therefore switch to electric cars more easily. But there are problems here too. The high demand for e-cars is leading to bottlenecks in the power supply and it is unclear whether the power grid can cope with the onslaught.
The e-car boom in parts of California is encouraging. However, it remains to be seen whether Germany can overcome the challenges associated with the switch to e-cars. What is certain, however, is that the road to e-mobility is not an easy one and there are still many hurdles to overcome.