Most people are aware that gasoline sucks as a fuel and is responsible for a large portion of carbon emissions, but defenders love to trot out that “if every end consumer gave up their car, it would only remove like 10% of carbon emissions”
I can find tons of literature about the impact gasoline vehicles have, but is there any broader studies that consider other factors—like manufacture, maintenance, and city planning—while exploring the environmental and/or economic impact of cars and car culture?
I know there’s great sources that have made these critiques, but I’m looking for scientific papers that present all the data in a single holistic analysis
10% of a person’s carbon emissions is still more than anybody’s carbon footprint in the developing world. Every little bit helps and cars are the one source of carbon emissions that actually has some semblance of personal responsibility.
That and diet.
I probably shouldn’t have framed the question as “in order to refute the ‘only 10%’ argument,” it’s also out of curiosity and accuracy. Anyone who resorts to “only X%” isn’t arguing in good faith and won’t settle for anything that’s not the silver bullet that solves climate change entirely