Europe Set to Save 20 Million Tonnes of CO2 This Year Thanks to Switch to EVs

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Last Updated on: 18th March 2025, 03:01 am

State of European Transport report shows that transport emissions are starting to fall as the EV market grows, but carbon savings are being undermined by increased air travel.

Europe is set to save 20 million tonnes of CO₂ this year thanks to more electric cars being on the road, new T&E analysis shows. T&E’s latest State of European Transport reveals that transport emissions are structurally falling, but carbon savings from reduced emissions on the road are being undermined by growth in air travel. T&E says the EU should not be rolling back green policies, which are crucial for its energy independence, just when they are starting to work.

Europe’s transport sector emitted 1.05 billion tonnes of CO₂ in 2024 down from 1.1 billion tonnes in 2019 — a 5% drop. Electric cars are largely responsible for this. The number of battery electric vehicles in the EU car fleet has seen a steep rise with T&E predicting that there will be close to 9 million of them on Europe’s roads by the end of the year. Without the switch to EVs, an additional 20 million tonnes of CO₂ would be pumped into the atmosphere — equivalent to the emissions of seven coal power plants.

William Todts, executive director at T&E, said: “The EU’s green policies are beginning to bite. Thanks to the switch to EVs, we are starting to see a structural decline in transport emissions. Europe is slowly releasing itself from its dependence on oil, but we are still spending hundreds of billions on imports from overseas powers. Now is not the time to roll back green measures. For the continent’s prosperity and security, now is the time to double down.”

Despite progress, Europe is still heavily reliant on imports with 96% of its crude oil and 90% of its natural gas coming from overseas. While Europe remains reliant on imports for key materials in the production of batteries like lithium (100%), nickel (75%) and aluminum (58%), the big difference is that metals can be recycled. T&E’s latest analysis shows that in 2030, over its lifetime an EV will only consume 20 litres of materials for its battery versus over 12,400 litres of fuel for a combustion engine car. In 2024, Europe spent €250 billion on oil imports, T&E finds.

As emissions from cars are set to fall, aviation emissions continue to rise. Europe’s airlines emitted 143 Mt of CO₂ last year, up nearly 10% compared to 2023. Emissions from Europe’s shipping activity remain stubbornly high at 195 Mt CO₂e, as both sectors are heavily reliant on fossil fuels. But with shipping now included in the EU’s carbon market (ETS), both sectors combined will have raised €5 billion in revenues in 2024, according to T&E estimates. That could rise to €30 billion a year by the end of the decade. These funds can be used to bridge the price gap between green e-fuels and traditional fossil fuels, says T&E.

News release from T&E.