EEA: Electric vehicles can help the shift toward EU's green transport future

The briefing 'Electric vehicles and the energy sector — impacts on Europe's future emissions' of the European Environment Agency (EEA) looks at the impact of different scenarios that take into account the increased use of electric cars and their effect on the European Union's (EU) energy system, and on emissions of greenhouse gases and selected air pollutants.

Electric vehicles powered by renewable energy sources can play a bridging role in the EU’s plans to move towards a greener, more sustainable transport system, and in meeting its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80‒95 % by 2050. Several scenarios were explored, including one model where electric cars have an 80% share of the EU's total car fleet in 2050. Additional electricity generation will be required to meet the higher energy demand. The need for extra power will be higher if other sectors like industry or households do not follow through on planned energy efficiency improvements.

Today's briefing is complemented by the publication of a new EEA guide on electric vehicles in Europe, which provides a non-technical summary of the latest information on electric cars in Europe, including those with hybrid technologies. The guide focuses on the electric passenger cars currently on the market, and describes the challenges and incentives in place. Sales and use of electric vehicles are increasing, but they currently only make up 1.2% of total passenger car sales in the EU. Current estimates also show that electric cars only account for 0.15% of Europe's total car fleet.

Source: EEA
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