The Impact of Carbon Offsetting and

Photo by OpenClipArt user dominiquechappard

Electric Cars on Global Warming
Ben Nagel Photo by OpenClip Art user mairin

Background Putting It All Together Costs

Global warming has become heavily debated in • Initial Cost
politics and is a pressing case for our society. The 5 YEARS Electric Gas • The average cost of a gas car is $10,511 less
average American produces about 20 metric tons Initial Cost $31,039 $20,528 than the average cost of an electric car and the
of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. Electric cars charging equipment needed, minus tax credit
Electricity/Gas $3,234 $8,788
have been developed to help society’s fight against • Charging/Fueling
Maintenance $3,927 $5,100
the amount of CO2-e emissions in the atmosphere, • Using average efficiency of electric car (0.32
but exactly how much do electric cars help? Total Savings $3,783 mi/kWh) and gas car (23 mi/gal)
Total CO2-e Emissions 22.88 t 33.42 t • Cost per year with different cost estimates:
Offset 756.71 t Electric Gas
Emissions Low (8¢, $2) $344.99 $1,171.83
Net CO2-e Emissions 22.88 t -723.29 t
Medium (15¢, $3) $646.85 $1,757.74
• Manufacturing High (22¢, $4) $948.71 $2,343.65
• Electric cars require 1.25 t of CO2-e more than 10 YEARS Electric Gas • Maintenance
gas cars (2.5 t more if battery is replaced) Initial Cost $31,039 $20,528 • Electric cars only require approximately 77% of
• Driving Electricity/Gas $6,468 $17,577 the cost of maintenance of gas cars
• Using average miles driven per year for an • Battery warranties usually last 10 years – a
Maintenance $11,242 $14,600
American (13,476) and average fuel efficiencies replacement costs $9,250
• Estimates from charging/fueling in Indianapolis Total Savings $3,955
• Offsets
• Year of driving an electric car results in 2.35 t Total CO2-e Emissions 36.76 t 59.09 t
• Savings used to offset CO2-e emissions at a
of CO2-e less than gas cars Offset 791.18 t conservative cost of $5/metric ton of CO2-e
• Disposal Net CO2-e Emissions -754.42 t 59.09 t
• Due to the battery, electric cars require an
additional 0.25 t of CO2-e to dispose of, and Conclusion
0.75 t of CO2-e if battery is replaced
20 YEARS Electric Gas
If you plan on driving a car for longer than 7
Initial Cost $31,039 $20,528
years, you should feel obligated to purchase an
What is a CO2-e offset? Electricity/Gas $12,936 $35,154 electric car. Savings from lower costs of operation
• A reduction in emissions of CO2-e made in order Maintenance $35,391 $33,950 allow the purchase of offsets at low costs, and the
to offset emissions made elsewhere Total Savings $10,265 lower emissions during operation help protect the
• The organization “Cool Earth” improves quality environment, too. Offsets can drastically reduce
Total CO2-e Emissions 65.77 t 110.44 t
of life for rainforest communities in exchange for emissions in the atmosphere, helping the fight
Offset 2,053.07 t against global warming at no additional net cost.
protection against commercial logging
Net CO2-e Emissions -1,987.29 t 110.44 t
• Research shows that Cool Earth can prevent 1 t Thanks to Dr. Peter Murphy of the UIndy Philosophy
of CO2-e emissions for only $1.34 • Using the medium 15¢/kWh, $3/gal costs Department for the inspiration of this project