Electric cars reduce Europe's CO2 emissions

19.03.2025

Source: E& M powernews

According to an analysis by the organization Transport & Environment, Europe will save 20 million tonnes of CO2 in 2025 thanks to e-cars. At the same time, emissions in other transport sectors will increase.

The European transport sector emitted around 1.05 billion tons of CO2 in 2024. This corresponds to a decrease of 5 percent compared to 2019, according to the latest "State of European Transport" report by the environmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E), which is based in Brussels and campaigns for a sustainable transport policy.

T&E cites the increase in the number of battery-powered electric vehicles as the main reason for the reduction. By the end of this year, analysts expect there to be almost 9 million electric cars on Europe's roads. Without this development, an additional 20 million tons of CO2 would have been emitted, they say. According to the organization, this amount is equivalent to the annual emissions of seven coal-fired power plants.

William Todts, Managing Director of T&E, emphasizes: "The EU's environmental policy measures are having an impact. With the increase in electric vehicles, we are seeing a structural reduction in transport emissions. Europe is becoming less dependent on oil imports, but the dependency is still high." The import quota for crude oil is 96 percent and 90 percent for natural gas. Although the production of electric vehicles also relies on raw material imports, metals such as lithium, nickel and aluminum are recyclable, which means that fewer new materials will be needed in the long term. According to T&E, an electric car in 2030 will consume 20 liters of material for the battery during its service life, while a combustion vehicle requires over 12,400 liters of fuel.

Shift in CO2 emissions

Despite the savings in road traffic, emissions in other areas are continuing to rise. European airlines emitted around 143 million tons of CO2 in 2024, almost 10 percent more than in the previous year. Shipping continued to cause high emissions with 195 million tons of CO2. Both sectors are heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

By including shipping in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), T&E expects both sectors to have generated a combined revenue of around 5 billion euros in 2024. By 2030, these revenues could rise to up to 30 billion euros annually. The organization sees these funds as an opportunity to reduce the price difference between renewable e-fuels and fossil fuels and to promote climate-friendly alternatives.

According to T&E, it is crucial that the EU continues to expand its environmental policy instead of loosening it. The current measures would not only reduce emissions, but also reduce Europe's dependence on fossil fuels.

Further information and graphics on the "State of European Transport" report are available on the T&E website.

Author: Davina Spohn