EVs powered by renewables to qualify for carbon credits

Projects that encourage the switch to electric vehicles will now receive further incentive when they include battery-charging from renewable energy sources, after a rule change was adopted this week by the Board that oversees the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The CDM, which provides saleable carbon credits to projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, broadened the methodology for electric vehicles to take into account the further reductions that could be achieved when renewable energy was used for recharging the vehicles.

“Powering electric vehicles from new renewable energy sources can make an important contribution to the response to climate change,” said CDM Executive Board Chair Lambert Schneider.

“This is part of the Board’s efforts to make the CDM even better, to broaden its usefulness in the international response to climate change,” he said.

According to the International Energy Agency, road transport accounts for about 14 per cent of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion in developing countries, while petrol car exhaust contributes to illness and death.

A recent UK study found that it could cut its oil imports by 40 per cent by 2030 by investing in EV infrastructure and support mechanisms, while also notching up public health improvements worth £1 billion and a 47 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.

Also at its 83rd meeting, the CDM Board improved a methodology for projects that create clean drinking water.

Electric Vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, driven in part by the success of the Tesla Model S, which features super-charging network in Asia, Europe and the US – many of them powered by renewables.

Interestingly, Origin Energy canvassed the idea of generating carbon credits by using electric vehicles, in a submission to the Abbott government’s Direct Action program. But nothing has been heard of the proposal since.