The myclimate expert team for environmental effects in Zurich and Berlin has revised the free web calculator for car journeys with the help of current studies and data. The car calculator shows the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions per vehicle over a certain distance travelled, a service that is increasingly in demand. In 2019, the myclimate car calculator recorded a growth rate of around 150 %. After the calculator for flight emissions, the car calculator is the second most frequently used calculation tool on the website www.myclimate.de/kompensieren.
This has changed
The general consumption data of the car emission calculator has been thoroughly updated on the basis of the ecoinvent database and new mobility statistics. It is now also possible to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from electric cars, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles and from fuels such as ethanol, natural gas and biodiesel. The results also take into account the emissions from the production to the disposal of the vehicle. The electric vehicle category thus also includes the CO2 emissions attributable to the battery. In addition, the upstream emissions of fuels and electricity are also included. Link to the concrete calculation basis.
"With the updated car calculator, we want to provide a calculation tool that is easy to use, covers all common drive types, and delivers results that are backed up by the latest climate science," says Andy Eigenmann, Project Manager for Consulting & Solutions at myclimate, who designed the calculation basis for the new car calculator.
The myclimate car calculator shows that electric cars cause significantly less climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions than vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Thereby however, the source of electricity plays an important role. At an annual mileage of 10,000 kilometres, an electric car with a consumption of 17 kWh/100 km produces 725 kg of CO2 emissions if the car is charged with certified green electricity. However, if the electricity source is the regular German electricity mix with its rather high proportion of fossil energy, the result is more than twice as high at 1.7 tonnes. However, even in this case the electric car "wins" over a diesel with an average consumption of 8 litres per 100 kilometres. The diesel car causes 3.7 tonnes of CO2.
A car fuelled purely with biodiesel has a slightly more climate-friendly result with 3.1 tonnes of CO2 per 10,000 kilometres. A biogas-powered vehicle of a similar size to a VW Golf Bluemotion produces 2 tonnes of CO2 emissions for the same mileage. These and other calculations can be played through with the myclimate car calculator with just a few clicks and details. "The values give a well-founded, secure picture of the CO2 emissions. However, they cannot cover all environmental impacts, such as those caused by raw materials, individually for each specific vehicle. However, we are happy to offer such calculations for fleet operators, for example", Andy Eigenmann puts the calculated values into relation.