Jo Lauder at ABC News (of Australia):
We’re comparing an electric car and a traditional petrol one and looking at the life-cycle emissions — that is, all the emissions produced from cradle to grave.
For both types of car, these are the key stages where emissions are produced:
- manufacturing of the car,
- production of the battery, especially for electric cars
- running the cars over their life-cycle, either on petrol or electricity
- disposal and recycling of the vehicle at the end of its life, including batteries
We’ll also compare electric cars in different states because each state uses different amounts of fossil fuels for electricity, which affects how “clean” the car is.
More here.