24Earth climate tool
EV vs. Gasoline Car Emissions Calculator
Compare the full climate footprint of an electric car and a gasoline car—manufacturing, battery, and every kilometre driven on your country’s electricity.
Your scenario
Where and how do you drive?
Pick your country and yearly distance. Switch to advanced mode to change every lifecycle assumption.
Private by design. Your inputs are calculated locally and are not saved.
The verdict
Over 15 years (180,000 km), the EV’s lifecycle emissions are
16.4 t COâ‚‚e lower (36.9%)
Carbon break-even distance
32,911 km ≈ 2.74 years of driving
The distance after which the EV’s extra manufacturing emissions are repaid by its cleaner driving.
With these assumptions, driving the EV emits more per kilometre than the gasoline car, so it never breaks even. This only happens on extremely carbon-intensive electricity.
Side by side
Emissions breakdown
Grid used: World average · 473 g CO₂/kWh
Annual operational emissions
Fuel well-to-wheel for gasoline; grid electricity for the EV, including charging losses.
Manufacturing emissions
Production and end-of-life recycling, including the traction battery for the EV.
Lifecycle emissions
Manufacturing plus driving over the selected vehicle lifetime.
Over time
Total emissions after 5, 10, and 15 years
Cumulative totals including manufacturing, at your annual mileage.
| After | Gasoline car | Electric car | EV saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 19.6 t | 16.6 t | 3.02 t |
| 10 years | 32 t | 22.3 t | 9.71 t |
| 15 years | 44.5 t | 28.1 t | 16.4 t |
* Beyond the selected vehicle lifetime; assumes the car remains in use.
How to read the result
The EV starts behind, then wins on the road
Building an electric car—especially its battery—emits more than building a gasoline car. But every kilometre driven usually emits far less, so the EV repays its carbon debt after a break-even distance and keeps saving from then on. How fast depends mostly on your electricity.
- Grid matters mostOn Norway’s hydro grid the break-even arrives roughly twice as fast as on the world average; on coal-heavy grids it takes far longer.
- Grids get cleanerThis tool holds today’s grid intensity constant, which overestimates EV emissions—real grids decarbonize during the car’s life.
- Batteries lastModern batteries are expected to outlast the car itself, so no battery replacement is modelled.
- Smaller is cleanerA smaller battery, an efficient car, and fewer kilometres all shrink both footprints—the cleanest kilometre is the one not driven.
Transparent by design
Assumptions and sources
View default assumptions
| Parameter | Default | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline fuel economy | 6.9 L/100 km | Real-world compact gasoline car, ICCT 2025 |
| EV efficiency | 20.2 kWh/100 km | Real-world, including charging losses, ICCT 2025 |
| Gasoline emissions | 3.00 kg CO₂e/L | Well-to-wheel fossil gasoline: 93.3 g CO₂e/MJ (EU FQD/JEC) × 32.2 MJ/L |
| Gasoline car manufacturing | 7.2 t COâ‚‚e | Production and recycling, Hill et al. 2020 via ICCT |
| EV manufacturing (excl. battery) | 6.5 t COâ‚‚e | Production and recycling, Hill et al. 2020 via ICCT |
| Battery production | 72.8 kg CO₂e/kWh × 60 kWh | R&D GREET 2024, EU production mix, via ICCT 2025 |
| Electricity intensity | Per country, 28–699 g CO₂/kWh | Generation-based, 2024: Ember 2025; EPA eGRID (US); DEFRA (UK) |
| Usage | 12,000 km/year, 15-year lifetime | Editable; ICCT assumes 12,000 km/year over 20 years |
Electricity: Country values are generation-based CO₂ intensities for 2024 and exclude upstream fuel-chain emissions and grid losses. Full life-cycle intensities are typically 10–20% higher—advanced mode accepts any value, including your own supplier’s figure or zero for verified renewable charging.
Scope: Maintenance, road infrastructure, and end-of-life battery second-life credits are excluded for both cars. Grid decarbonization over the vehicle’s life is not modelled, which favours the gasoline car.
This is a communication and education tool, not a formal life-cycle assessment. Real emissions vary with the specific vehicle, driving style, climate, charging pattern, electricity supplier, and how the grid evolves. Defaults describe compact cars; results scale differently for SUVs and larger batteries. ICCT’s full analysis, which models grid decarbonization over the vehicle lifetime, finds EVs in Europe emit roughly 73% less than gasoline cars over their life.
