Electric car proponents had some significant wins in April. Multiple car brands announced increased zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales in early 2024. However, that wasn’t even the biggest April revelation. New research by University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) professors and graduate students says electric vehicles (EVs) lower transportation emissions.
This research project spanned over a decade and took data from several areas of the Bay Area, including San Francisco, parts of Sonoma County, Vallejo, and San Leandro. It was started in 2012 by Ronald Cohen, a chemistry professor at UC Berkeley.
The study found a small but steady decrease in carbon emissions occurred between 2018 and 2022. Around 1.8% of air quality improvement occurred during a 2.6% yearly drop in vehicle emissions.
The drop in carbon emissions is almost directly correlated with the increased presence of EVs in California.
The emissions were recorded by 57 sensors in the Berkeley Environmental Air Quality and CO2 Network (BEACO2N). Cohen and his students set up more than 80 BEACO2Ns across the Bay Area, a region with a high EV adoption rate. According to Fast Company, EVs were 40% of new auto registrations in San Jose and 34% in San Francisco.
“We show from atmospheric measurements that adoption of electric vehicles is working, that it’s having the intended effect on CO2 emissions,” Cohen told Berkeley News.
Graphic Courtesy Environmental Science and Technology
The sensors measured air pollution, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and ozone. Electrek noted that the Clean Air Act doesn’t regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) sensors don’t pick it up. The agency does track CO2 levels but not as an air pollutant.
The study divided emissions into industry, seasonable varying (e.g., AC/HVAC), and traffic emissions. The research team isolated the traffic emissions and noted a drop thanks to EVs, hybrids, and improved gas-powered cars. The study says EVs are working, and more on the road will make a difference, especially in car-reliant urban areas.
This research certainly backs up some of the EV policies ratified by the California state government. The Golden State wants to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 and will halt gas-powered car sales in 2035. This transition requires infrastructure updates to accommodate EV charging and hydrogen fuel stations.
More cities could benefit from the BEACO2N system. Cohen has set up his technology in Los Angeles, Providence, and Glasgow, Scotland.
Each sensor costs less than $100,000 compared to the EPA’s carbon trackers. He said they are 20 times more expensive than BEACO2Ns.
“We show that you can make observations and measure changes due to policies of all kinds in a cost-effective and relatively rapid way,” Cohen explained to Berkeley News. “The network involves about half a million dollars’ worth of equipment — a one-time investment — and a person per year thinking about it. One of our goals is to demonstrate, both on the CO2 and the air quality side of what we do, that this is cost-effective and translatable and easily accessible to the public in a way that nothing else is.”
Photo Courtesy Joonyeop Baek
The findings of the Bay Area study were published in Environmental Science & Technology journal. The conclusions found that even a continuation of the 1.8% reduction rate would only lead to a 50% reduction of 2018 CO2 levels in San Francisco. More EV and alt-fuel vehicles would also increase that rate. Cohen said to hit net zero by 2045, a 3.7% reduction rate would need to be sustained for 20 years.
Cleaner air leads to better health in cities, per 2023 findings published by the University of Southern California (USC).
The study claims that every 20 ZEVs per 1,000 Californians caused a 3.2% decrease in emergency visit rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments caused by pollution.
Underserved communities would benefit massively from more ZEV adoption.
A national effort has been made to increase EV adoption and infrastructure as the federal government pushes toward its net-zero goals. However, the USC study’s team members point to the importance of prioritization at the state and local levels.
“When we think about the actions related to climate change, often it’s on a global level,” Dr. Erika Garcia, the USC study’s senior author, said in a press release. “But the idea that changes being made at the local level can improve the health of your own community could be a powerful message to the public and to policymakers.”
