The Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector kicked off with the quantification of 20 carbon footprints and analysis of national and international best practices
In partnership with a wide range of companies representing the sector, Mobinov has started developing a project focused on building a Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive sector, a Project/Investment supported by the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan, and by the Next Generation EU European Funds.
As part of the development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the Portuguese Automotive Sector, Mobinov, together with its partners and associates, has been working to ensure a robust and structured view of the climate impact that the different companies present in the course of their activity.
In this context, over the last few months, the team has been working to develop an exhaustive analysis of the best practices in the fight against national and international climate change, as well as quantifying the carbon footprint of 20 companies in the sector.
With regard to the first point, the focus was on identifying the main drivers and best market practices, as well as the major technological advances and the most relevant and current legislative documents in order to build a holistic and transversal view of the current panorama and identify opportunities for improvement for the automotive industry in Portugal. In addition, an analysis of the main carbon neutrality plans underway in the European Union was also carried out, providing a broad view of the existing challenges and opportunities and fostering future alignment between these goals and those advocated in the Sector’s Decarbonization Roadmap.
With regard to the second point, the main objective was to quantify the carbon footprint of 20 different infrastructures in order to obtain a clear view of current emissions and identify key areas for improvement. This process was carried out on the basis of international best practices and allowed a solid basis to be established for setting objective targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the different subsectors of activity in the automotive industry.
The results that emerged from these two processes are now being consolidated into a cross-cutting Decarbonization Roadmap tailored to the specific characteristics of the Portuguese automotive sector. This Plan not only sets concrete targets for reducing GHG emissions but also defines concrete strategies and programs aimed at supporting companies in achieving these goals, taking advantage of best practices and the latest innovations available in the fight against climate change.
At the same time, a comprehensive communication plan is also underway to make players in the sector aware of the importance of adopting measures to promote the transition from a linear, intensive economy to a circular, low-carbon model. Through continuous and targeted awareness campaigns, the sector is being informed about how it should contribute to a more sustainable future and what the benefits and great opportunities associated with these changes are.
In this context, the Decarbonization Roadmap for the Portuguese Automotive Sector aims to support the definition of a more sustainable, resilient, innovative, and future-oriented development model for the Portuguese automotive industry.
Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência português (recuperarportugal.gov.pt)
Mobinov Contact Point:
Name: Miguel Araújo
Phone: +351 910 058 880
Email: miguel.araujo@mobinov.pt
The Paris Agreement establishes a series of key measures to combat climate change and achieve carbon neutrality. Some of the main measures that countries must adopt include:
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- promoting the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro;
- adopting practices to improve energy efficiency in buildings, transport and industries; • transparency in reporting on emissions and progress towards targets, making available data for evaluation;
- a commitment to provide funding to developing countries so that they can make the transition to cleaner technologies and contribute to the fight against global warming;
- encouraging the preservation and increase of forest areas to absorb carbon from the atmosphere;
- promoting sustainable agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- developing and implementing technologies that capture carbon from the atmosphere;
- raising awareness about climate change and the importance of the measures to be adopted.
The development of the National Automotive Sector Decarbonization Roadmap will take these guidelines into account in its implementation, seeking to reduce the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, contribute to greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
The Paris Agreement was an important milestone in the global effort to combat climate change and its main objective is to limit the increase in global temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, preferably, to ensure that global temperatures stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The countries that are part of the agreement have made voluntary commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adopt measures to combat global warming.
The development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector is along the same lines, seeking to reduce the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, contributing to their greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
Although it varies according to the type of energy used in production processes, the production of electric vehicle batteries has a high carbon footprint.
However, during use, an electric vehicle is capable of emitting around three times less GHG when compared to a combustion vehicle, making this type of vehicle significantly less impactful from a climate point of view.
The development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector is essentially intended to help reduce the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, contribute to greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
Factcheck: How electric vehicles help to tackle climate change (carbonbrief.org)
Transport accounts for 25% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Apart from bicycles, the private means of transport with the smallest carbon footprint is the electric car. In comparison, a petrol or diesel vehicle has an average impact of around 170g of GHG per passenger per kilometer, while an electric vehicle has a figure of 47g.
At the same time, when travelling domestically, air travel is one of the most polluting modes of transport.
The development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector aims, in this context, to reduce the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, to contribute to their greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
Which form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint? – Our World in Data
In 2018, the transport sector emitted 8 billion tones of CO2, corresponding to 24% of total CO2 emissions worldwide.
In this context, land vehicles are responsible for 74.5%, with passenger vehicles accounting for 45.1% and are the means of transport with the greatest impact. As such, land transport is responsible for 18% of total CO2 emissions and passenger transport for more than 8%, which represents a total of 650 million tones of CO2 per year.
The development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector aims, in this context, to reduce the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, to contribute to their greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
Cars, planes, trains: where do CO2 emissions from transport come from? – Our World in Data
This downward trend in recent years, a 66% reduction from 2017 to 2021, is largely explained by the reduction in emissions from the energy sector, since there has been an end to the production of electricity from coal and a strong growth in renewable sources of electricity production.
The development of the National Automotive Sector Decarbonization Roadmap aims to help accelerate this trend, reducing the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, contributing to greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
National Emissions Inventory 2023:
20230315MemoEmissoes2023.pdf (apambiente.pt)
Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at a time when they need to be reduced rapidly. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to analyze their origins, i.e. which sectors contribute most to climate change. From this analysis, it is possible to identify opportunities for improvement and develop effective solutions and mitigation strategies to reduce GHG emissions.
The order of the sectors that have the greatest impact in this area varies from country to country: in Portugal, the sector that emits the most GHGs is Transport, while in Brazil, for example, it is the Agricultural sector. It is therefore important to adapt decarbonization measures to the characteristics of each country.
Emissions by sector – Our World in Data
In 2021, a total of 54.59 billion GHG emissions were recorded worldwide, with China and the United States of America recording the highest figures, emitting 13.71 and 5.93 billion tons of GHG, respectively.
If we consider GHG emissions per capita, China reached 9.62 tons per inhabitant and the USA recorded 17.58 tons per capita. In Portugal, the figure was 5.01 tons per inhabitant. Analyzing the evolution of GHG emissions over the last few years, it can be seen that Portugal and the USA are significantly reducing their carbon footprints through decarbonization measures, while China has seen an upward trend.
The development of the National Automotive Sector Decarbonization Roadmap aims to act in exactly these areas, reducing the impact of these industries on the environment by reducing their emissions and, at the same time, contributing to their greater adaptation and resilience to future climate challenges.
Greenhouse gas emissions – Our World in Data
Scope 3 emissions are divided into 15 different categories, although not all categories are considered material for an Organization.
In this context, the GHG emissions that stand out are associated with the acquisition of raw materials, the transport of goods and services upstream and downstream, the waste generated in operations, the business trips made, the commuting of workers between their homes and their workplaces, the emissions related to the use of the respective products and the GHG generated in the treatment of these at the end of their life.
Monitoring and managing Scope 3 emissions in the automotive sector is essential for companies to assess and reduce their environmental impact throughout the value chain. Likewise, initiatives in this field often end up generating leverage effects, promoting the adoption of good environmental practices among a large number of stakeholders.
The development of the Decarbonization Roadmap for the National Automotive Sector will take these same factors into consideration in order to effectively reduce the impact of these industries on the environment and, at the same time, contribute to greater adaptation and resilience of organizations to future climate challenges.
