The European Union (EU) has confirmed that, thanks to electric cars, it will emit 20 million fewer tons of CO2 into the environment this year.
While transportation in that continent still heavily relies on fossil fuels, these vehicles are gaining ground. And the numbers show it.
20 million fewer tons of CO2: the European achievement
Between the “Green Deal” of the EU and other complementary regulations, the adoption of clean transportation technologies is becoming more common.
For now, the impact is mainly felt on road transport emissions, according to the report State of European Transport 2025 by Transport and Environment (T&E).
Advances in clean energy transportation.
“If our transportation runs on clean electricity produced at home, we will spend less on importing oil,” the document states. It is estimated that around 9 million electric cars will be circulating on EU roads by the end of the year.
The NGO points out that, although the transport sector continues to emit more than in 1990, “its emissions are finally starting to decrease“.
Dependence on fossil fuels
Despite the improvements, it should be clarified that Europe still has a strong dependence on fossil fuels. As they are the main sources of energy for transportation.
According to Eurostat, in 2023, the percentage of imported oil in the EU compared to total consumption was 96% and in 2024 the 27 countries spent 250 billion euros on these imports.
With 450 million tons of CO2, T&E indicates that cars, trucks, vans, and buses are responsible for almost three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
In turn, they account for 13% of the EU’s total emissions. Aircraft and ships represent a quarter.
According to T&E, sales of fossil fuel cars peaked six years ago.
While the EU also has to rely on other countries for many of the essential materials for the ecological transition (in the case of lithium, for batteries, the dependence is 100%), electric vehicle batteries require few raw materials.
Environmental advantages of electric cars.
Currently, battery electric vehicles are already three times cleaner than fossil fuel vehicles.
Increasing number of electric cars
T&E estimates that around 9 million electric cars will be circulating on EU roads by the end of the year.
This means that one in five new cars sold in the EU will have zero exhaust emissions, and with this, 20 million fewer tons of CO2 will be emitted this year.
Electric vehicle sales
Global electric vehicle sales in January reached 1.3 million units, registering an 18% increase compared to the same month in 2024, as reported by the Electric Vehicle Research Institute Rho Motion. However, the decrease from December was 35%.
In January, electric vehicle sales in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the UK increased by 21% annually, reaching 0.25 million vehicles. Meanwhile, in the United States and Canada, sales rose by 22%, totaling 0.13 million units.
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