Open AccessThe Environmental Footprint of Transport by Car Using Renewable Energy
Author(s) -
Holmatov Bunyod,
Hoekstra Arjen Y.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
earth's future
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.641
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 2328-4277
DOI - 10.1029/2019ef001428
Subject(s) - renewable energy , fossil fuel , electricity , environmental science , greenhouse gas , carbon footprint , biofuel , renewable fuels , solar energy , climate change mitigation , gasoline , hydrogen vehicle , environmental engineering , natural resource economics , waste management , engineering , hydrogen fuel , fuel cells , economics , ecology , chemical engineering , electrical engineering , biology
Replacing fossil fuels in the transport sector by renewable energy will help combat climate change. However, lowering greenhouse gas emissions by switching to alternative fuels or electricity can come at the expense of land and water resources. To understand the scale of this possible trade‐off, we compare and contrast carbon, land, and water footprints per driven km in midsize cars utilizing conventional gasoline, biofuels, bioelectricity, solar electricity, and solar‐based hydrogen. Results show that solar‐powered electric cars have the smallest environmental footprints per km, followed by solar‐based hydrogen cars, and that biofuel‐driven cars have the largest footprints.