this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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That is nowhere near enough. It's 33% versus 40% difference between co2/kWh . we need zero co2/kWh or else it's all a waste of time.
It's only acceptable if we are transitioning to zero emission grid. If we stay on natural gas then it won't even move the needle.
We are transitioning towards it, but in the meantime, switching to EVs still reduces CO2 output and because the grid is getting cleaner, that means EVs get cleaner even after being manufactured and sold, whereas ICEs can only get cleaner through R&D and only get worse over time as they age (once they start burning oil, etc)
A few percentage points reduction in co2 emission isn't going to move the needle. The whole grid has to shutdown fossil fuel energy production for this transition to make sense.
If you let perfect be the enemy of good, nothing ever gets done, because nothing is ever perfect right away.
This change is already happening, an EV now in most western countries is significantly cleaner than an ICE and like I said, an ICE is doomed to spew gases for the remainder of its lifetime whereas EVs keep getting because the grid keeps getting cleaner.
And even better, these statistics assume a 200k km lifetime for all cars. It tends to be much more than that, making the initial battery manufacturing even less impactful to the total CO2 production.
I'm more worried that after splurging on EVs now we don't go through with the act that actually makes a difference. After all we've already got the personal social reward of doing "the right thing tm". We can party and forget the climate doomerism my new Tesla saved the world, yay ! Personal responsibility and the free market has prevailed !