Pitfalls of the existing positive environmental impact assessment methods: an EV case

The growing global efforts toward net zero emissions have sparked the need for stringent tracking and quantifying the decarbonisation progress. Over the last decade, a number of methods have been proposed to define and quantify the positive environmental impacts (PEIs) of products or actions. Although the current methods are all predominantly based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), their definitions, scopes, and approaches are distinct from each other, and they have not gained widespread acceptance in academia or industry. This paper examines the case of electric vehicles (EVs) to critically evaluate existing PEI assessment methods, aiming to uncover the inherent pitfalls. The results highlight three primary risks: (1) the potential for manipulation of results calculated by current methods, (2) insufficient consideration of potential rebound effects and the implications when accounting for product volume, and (3) ambiguity in what can be quantified as PEI. Accordingly, an alternative definition of PEI is proposed with suggested further research pathways.