The Energy Consumption and CO2 emission impacts of Fuel and Electric Vehicles in China

¹ School of Environment, Education and Development, The University of Manchester, England, M13 3PL, United Kingdom
² Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China
³ School of Resources, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330047, China

^† These authors contributed equally.
^a zhiqiang.zheng@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
^b Yangruoxi@emails.bjut.edu.cn
^c 530268199@qq.com

Abstract

Vehicle electrification has been seriously considered as an industrial revolution to achieve sustainable transportation in China. With the development of the electric system, electric vehicles and railway systems are utilizing and generalizing. To accurately and adequately evaluate the energy consumption and CO2 emission effects of fuel and electric vehicles, this study focuses on these two kinds of vehicles, including buses and cars, and analyses their environmental impacts. Results show that electric vehicles consume less heat energy and release less CO2 emission than fuel vehicles do at the same distance. Public vehicles consume much less heat energy than private cars no matter which kind of fuel they use. In addition, the CO2 emission of fuel cars is larger than that of fuel buses. Moreover, electric energy is cheaper than gasoline and diesel. Therefore, the electric power will benefit the environment and society. The power should be recommended to substitute oil in the future. Although electric vehicles still have some limitations, such as prolonging the life of batteries, developing new energy, and green energy can guarantee energy security and benefit the environment and reduce the emission of CO2.