Decarbonizing transportation will be essential for achieving climate change goals. The sector emits 23% of global CO2, with nearly half of that from cars and vans. So far, the focus of attention for reducing this figure has been on what comes out of the tailpipe. But that’s only part of how cars create emissions. BMW’s Head of Sustainability and Mobility Strategy, Dr Thomas Becker, says the production process needs much greater consideration.
But decarbonizing automotive manufacturing is far from easy. According to the International Energy Agency, the average is 6 tons of CO2 for manufacturing an internal combustion car, or 8 tons for a battery-electric vehicle. However, knowing where that comes from includes the footprint of a company’s suppliers, not just its direct contributions.
