Do Electric Cars Help the Environment?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a strong weapon in the world's efforts against global warming. But the effects of EVs depend on what country you are in. In some nations, electric vehicles lead to the release of more carbon gasses than gasoline cars, new research shows.
电动汽车是世界应对全球变暖的有力武器。但是电动汽车的效果取决于你所在的国家。新研究表明，在一些国家，电动汽车比燃油汽车的碳排放更高。

The Radiant Energy Group (REG) compared gas emissions caused by a gasoline vehicle and from charging an electric vehicle. The study compared the emissions caused by charging a Tesla Model 3 to drive 100 kilometers with the emissions coming from an average gasoline car driven the same distance.
辐射能组织对比了燃油车行驶和电动车充电所造成的碳排放。该研究比较了特斯拉Model 3 充电行驶100公里以及普通燃油汽车行驶相同距离所产生的碳排放。

Countries where charging an electric vehicle is cleaner than driving a gasoline-powered car use a lot of hydroelectric, nuclear or solar power.
有些国家为电动汽车充电比驾驶燃油汽车更环保，这些国家采用了大量水电、核能或太阳能。

Sales of electric cars are rising the fastest in Europe. Data from REG suggests that EVs in Poland and Kosovo actually create more carbon emissions because their electric systems depend so much on coal.
电动汽车销量在欧洲增长最快。来自辐射能组织的数据表明，波兰和科索沃的电动汽车实际上会产生更多碳排放，因为它们的电力系统非常依赖于煤炭。

In other European countries, however, EVs result in reduced emissions. The carbon gas reduction depends on what energy supplies electricity systems and the time of day vehicles are charged.
然而在其它欧洲国家，电动汽车可以减少碳排放。二氧化碳减排量取决于电力系统的能源供应以及车辆在一天当中的充电时机。

The countries with the biggest carbon gas savings from EVs use a lot of nuclear and hydroelectric power. First was Switzerland at 100 percent carbon savings over gasoline vehicles. Next was Norway at 98 percent, France at 96 percent, Sweden at 95 percent and Austria 93 percent. The research was based on public data on Europe's electricity usage and the European Environment Agency (EEA).
电动汽车碳减排量最多的国家采用了大量核电和水电。排名第一的是瑞士，比燃油车减少了100%碳排放。其次是挪威的98%，法国的96%，瑞典的95%以及奥地利的93%。该研究是基于欧洲用电量和欧洲环境署的公开数据。

The countries which showed the lowest savings were Cyprus at four percent, Serbia 15 percent, Estonia 35 percent and the Netherlands 37 percent. An EV driver in Germany reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent over a gasoline car. Germany uses a mix of renewable energy and coal to produce electricity.
碳减排量最低的国家是塞浦路斯的4%，塞尔维亚的15%，爱沙尼亚的35%以及荷兰的37%。电动汽车在德国行驶可以比燃油车减少56%的温室气体排放。德国混合使用可再生能源以及煤炭来发电。

Germany and Spain create a lot of electricity from the sun and wind. But the sun and wind do not add to a country's electricity system equally throughout the day.
德国和西班牙通过太阳能和风能产生了大量电力。但是，太阳能和风能不会全天均衡地补充到国家的电力系统中。

For this reason, the amount of carbon emissions saved by driving an EV depends on the time of day it is being charged. Charging in the afternoon, when there is more sun and wind, saves 16 to 18 percent more carbon than at night when electricity systems are more likely to be using gas or coal.
因此，驾驶电动汽车减少的碳排放量取决于一天中的充电时机。在太阳能和风能充足的下午充电比晚间能减少16%到18%的碳排放量，电力系统在晚间主要使用天然气和煤炭发电。

The study was released just before Wednesday's talks on transportation at the United Nations' climate meeting in Glasgow. During the meeting, a group of countries, companies and cities promised to stop making gas-powered cars by 2040.
该研究是在联合国格拉斯哥气候大会周三的交通问题会谈之前发布的。在本次大会期间，一些国家、企业和城市承诺到2040年前停止生产燃油汽车。

But the study showed how the auto industry's ability to reduce emissions depends on what national power systems use to produce electricity. European countries have not solved how to reduce carbon emissions and how to store some kinds of renewable energy in their systems.
但是该研究表明，汽车行业减排能力如何，取决于国家电力系统的发电方式。欧洲国家尚未解决如何减少碳排放，以及如何在其系统中储存某些可再生能源。

The gap in emissions between electric and gasoline-powered vehicles has narrowed in recent years. In Europe, carmakers have been required to meet EU carbon reduction standards. They have made their gasoline engines more fuel-efficient. As a result, the carbon emissions of new gasoline-powered cars in Europe fell an average of 25 percent between 2006 and 2016, EEA information says.
电动汽车和燃油汽车之间的排放差距近年来已经有所缩小。在欧洲，汽车制造商被要求达到欧盟的碳排放标准。他们已经让燃油发动机的燃油效率更高。欧洲环境署的信息称，2006年到2016年期间，欧洲新型燃油汽车的碳排放量平均下降了25%。

EV sales in Europe are supported by government spending and rules against new gasoline engine cars after 2035. About one in five cars sold in Europe from July to September of this year were electric.
欧洲的电动汽车销售受到了政府支出和2035年针对新燃油汽车法规的支持。今年7到9月，欧洲销售的汽车中约有五分之一是电动汽车。

Automakers including General Motors, Stellantis and Volkswagen have set targets to sell mainly electric vehicles in Europe in the coming years. U.S. car manufacturer General Motors said it will have all new electric cars by 2022.
包括通用汽车、Stellantis集团以及大众汽车在内的汽车制造商已经设定了未来几年在欧洲主要销售电动汽车的目标。美国汽车制造商通用汽车表示，到2022年它将拥有全新电动汽车系列。

I'm Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。(hxen.net原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)