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Rosneft CEO: Electric vehicle production emissions up to 50% higher than combustion engine vehicles

The level of emissions during the production of an electric car is 35-50% higher than during the production of a car with an internal combustion engine, said Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft Oil Company, at the 17th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum.

“It is widely believed that electrification of transport can significantly slow climate change, as transport accounts for more than 20% of all carbon dioxide emissions from the global energy system. However, when calculating the emissions savings, it is necessary to take into account, among other things, the emissions caused by the production of cars and their components,” Igor Sechin said.

“Experts estimate that the emissions from the production of an electric car today are 35-50% higher than the emissions from the production of a car with an internal combustion engine,” he said, adding that the main difference in emissions comes from battery production, as well as steel and aluminum.

The Rosneft CEO noted that in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s carbon targets, the production chain’s emissions from electric vehicles would have to be reduced by 81% by 2032 — “which is simply not impossible”.

It should also be taken into account that the use of electric vehicles in countries with energy systems that rely heavily on fossil fuels will only result in emission savings if the electric vehicle’s mileage is very high, Sechin said.

According to McKinsey experts, some models need to be driven up to 200,000 kilometres to achieve emissions levels comparable to those of a combustion engine. In countries with a high proportion of coal-fired generation, this figure can exceed 250 thousand kilometres. “Manufacturers of new model lines should take this into account,” Igor Sechin added.

The Rosneft CEO said that to achieve carbon neutrality goals by 2050, the global fleet of electric vehicles would need to increase more than 30-fold, from 30 million to one billion.

Rosneft Information Division
Rosneft Oil Company
December 5, 2024