ifo germany tt

===<ul><li style="">

Right-wing outlets like The Wall Street Journal editorial page are touting <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bf68facf64c089738dbf262141cb45bae6ef880da66fb8e4dd951d4447686820efc55aad792fab8287bb9eb3ba25ca1171" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="a deeply flawed new study">a deeply flawed new study</a> attacking electric vehicles.</li><li style="">

Trump Fed pick Stephen Moore <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bffc7f738725d96fbf6d6b473ae19e4aff27fdb8a5abb22bd09a181e7a284cc137057429555ed61f040c066237b80829bf" style="font-size: 17px; text-decoration: underline;" title="repeatedly said">repeatedly said</a> that he liked working at Fox News because he met "a lot of beautiful women" there. Moore has <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bfc8f4abae3949312f74d01c0de2e3cacc24fab61ddd4e601c0c6701e67a7bc526899029bf50717bc889192ed50751edc1" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="also praised">also praised</a> slave-owning Confederate general Robert E. Lee and hates climate science so much that he

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bf24d2d13c2861879f464669ae1a2e57440ba6b71197e0039b33db087fed43c810dec08e896cdb4fd996b1f3dc544efcfe" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="even attacked">even attacked</a> Ivanka Trump.</li><li style="">

Tucker Carlson's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bfd9fe07d3e66de17dee6ed20c633a081ec1065be3ac80b30ed7f930c867fa78dbd86558f8a8ab7e98cf834275578e0231" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="wild new talking point">wild new talking point</a> is that abortion is somehow a tool of "corporate" oppression.</li><li style="">

A Fox host <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://click.e.mediamatters.org/?qs=e9e94d47ce4553bfd909a4975fec6cf4e52ee75d62f4b8fc135072c65ce4a6f631a8bf3fb5beb9f1f87ac8f83787ae62e42ce5b697e703c6" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="blamed bank regulation">blamed bank regulation</a> for high tuition and the student loan crisis.</li></ul>

===ref
 Wall Street Journal published an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/germanys-dirty-green-cars-11556057770?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1">editorial</a>

on April 23 that derided electric vehicles in Germany as "dirty," based

on a recent study that has been called into question by a number of

experts and mainstream German news outlets. The Journal's editorial board, which has a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/534ec657e4b03c887dde2641/t/575f6edd20c647ff95c170a0/1465872094069/FINAL_CN_WSJ_white_paper-0613.pdf">history</a> of climate denial, has attacked both <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/worlds-dumbest-energy-policy-11548807424">German energy policy</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-electric-kool-aid-subsidy-test-11546201813">electric vehicles</a> (EVs) before.

The dubious study has also been hyped by climate deniers and

right-wing outlets in the U.S., including Infowars and The Daily Caller.

<h2>Experts point out major flaws in German study on electric vs. diesel cars</h2>

The <a href="https://www.cesifo-group.de/DocDL/sd-2019-08-sinn-karl-buchal-motoren-2019-04-25.pdf">study</a>

was conducted by the Ifo Institute, a Munich-based think tank, and

argued that a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle driven in Germany is

responsible for more carbon dioxide pollution than a Mercedes C220d

diesel vehicle. The study, which was released in German on April 17 and

has not yet been translated into English, finds that the Tesla emits

between 156 and 181 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven, compared to 141

grams of CO2 from the diesel Mercedes. The study attributes roughly half

of the Tesla's emissions to the vehicle’s production process, including

its battery, which the authors assume will only last 10 years or

150,000 kilometers. The other half of the Tesla’s estimated emissions in

Germany come from electricity used to charge the car, some of which is

generated by burning coal.

English-language summaries of the study include a <a href="http://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/presse/Pressemitteilungen/Pressemitteilungen-Archiv/2019/Q2/pm_20190417_sd08-Elektroautos.html">press release</a> from the Ifo Institute and a Brussels Times <a href="http://www.brusselstimes.com/business/technology/15050/electric-vehicles-emit-more-co2-than-diesel-ones,-german-study-shows">write-up</a>.

Soon after the study's release, German-language outlets started pushing back on its findings and methodology, including <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/e-auto-schlechtgerechnet-die-ifo-studie-zur-co2-bilanz-a-1263622.html">Der Spiegel</a>, the highest-circulation news magazine in Europe, and <a href="https://www.wiwo.de/technologie/mobilitaet/ist-das-e-auto-ein-rueckschritt-was-hans-werner-sinn-bei-seiner-elektroauto-studie-uebersehen-hat/24237236.html">WirtschaftsWoche</a>,

a weekly business news magazine. Articles in both publications

highlighted miscalculations and faulty assumptions, and pointed to a

number of other studies on EVs that had come to opposite conclusions.

One English-language debunk of the study came in a <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327764543004672">Twitter thread</a> from Netherlands-based energy researcher Auke Hoekstra. Hoekstra <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327767923593217">noted</a>

that the study's claims about the diesel Mercedes' emissions are wrong

-- the Mercedes emits closer to 220 grams of CO2 per kilometer, rather

than 141, he argued. He also <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327774433173504">highlighted</a>

how the authors used an extremely low number for how long an electric

vehicle battery lasts. He stated, “even Tesla's from the olden days can

drive 600 000 km before the battery reaches 80% capacity.” He <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327788093952000">summed up</a> his criticisms:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">To

summarize: EVs only emit more CO2 if you make unrealistically negative

assumptions for battery production, battery life and electricity mix

while making unrealistically positive assumption about diesel

consumption.

Correct ANY of these and the tables are turned. Bigly.

— AukeHoekstra (@AukeHoekstra) <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327788093952000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2019</a></blockquote>

Hoekstra also <a href="https://twitter.com/AukeHoekstra/status/1120327769479634946">argued</a>

that the analysis should not be presented as an academic study.

Instead, he characterized it as “the opinion of three people, … none of

whom have any background” in EVs or batteries. One of the authors,

Hans-Werner Sinn, has been criticized for using dubious assumptions in

energy studies before: Sinn received strong <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292118301107?via%3Dihub">pushback</a>

on a 2018 paper he wrote claiming that energy storage requirements

ultimately limit the expansion of renewable energy. Sinn has also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/misp.12060">argued</a> that criticism of Volkswagen over its role in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2015/sep/23/volkswagen-emissions-scandal-explained-diesel-cars">Dieselgate scandal</a> has been exaggerated, and placed much of the blame for the scandal on U.S. efforts to regulate diesel engines.

Another <a href="https://electrek.co/2019/04/22/study-electric-cars-dirtier-diesel-debunked/">debunk</a> of the Ifo study came from Fred Lambert, chief editor of the electric transportation news site Electrek. He noted:

<blockquote>One of the biggest mistakes they are making is that they

are comparing the full production and lifecycle of an electric vehicle,

including the emission from the electricity uses, against the production

and lifecycle of a diesel car without accounting for all the energy

used to produce the diesel and supply it to the cars.

</blockquote>

Lambert also called out the study’s authors for falsely assuming a

battery life of 150,000 kilometers and for failing to note that Germany

is planning to <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-climate-action-plan-2050">rapidly decarbonize</a> its electricity system, which would greatly improve the carbon footprint of EVs in the near future.

Another criticism of the study has been its focus solely on Germany's

energy grid and the authors' failure to take into account the overall

mix of the larger European energy market that Germany is a part of.

German carmaker Volkswagen, which manufactures both EVs and diesel

vehicles, responded to the study by defending EVs. In an <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/ifo-study-casts-doubt-on-electric-vehicles-climate-saving-credentials/a-48460328">English-language article</a>

by Deutsche Welle, a German international broadcaster, Volkswagen noted

that with Germany's current electricity mix, its Golf EV would have a

similar CO2 output as a diesel car of the same type -- 142 grams per

kilogram compared to 140. However, “using the European energy mix for

calculations, which includes large amounts of nuclear energy from France

and water power from Norway, the e-Golf's carbon footprint would be

down to 119 g/km” -- far below the CO2 output of a diesel car.

Other analyses have disproved the claim that EVs are not environmentally friendly. In 2018, the Union of Concerned Scientists <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electric-vehicles-continue-to-get-cleaner">found</a>

that a U.S.-based EV is equivalent to a conventional gasoline car that

gets 80 miles per gallon. Unlike the German study, it looked at all of

the emissions from fueling and driving both vehicles. It also found that

EVs will get cleaner over time as electric grids get cleaner, noting

that its 2018 estimate was an improvement of 7 mpg from 2017. And a 2017

<a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/press/electric-cars-emit-less-co2-over-their-lifetime-diesels-even-when-powered-dirtiest-electricity">report</a>

from the Transport & Environment group, a Brussels-based

transportation policy group, found that EVs emit fewer greenhouse gases

than diesel cars even when EVs are powered by the most carbon-intensive

electricity.

<h2>Right-wing outlets in the U.S. promote Ifo’s study to disparage EVs</h2>

Although the Ifo study is specific to Germany’s electric grid and has

been widely criticized, climate deniers and right-wing outlets in the

U.S. have picked up on it and are using it to disparage EVs generally.

Steve Milloy, a notorious <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/steve-milloy">denier</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-case-for-a-green-no-deal-11555021957">frequent</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/too-much-academic-science-is-bad-science-11551469383">Wall Street Journal</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-epa-cleans-up-its-science-1522105331">contributor</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JunkScience/status/1119220660843237376">tweeted</a> about the study on April 19. On April 22, extreme right-wing outlet Infowars <a href="https://www.infowars.com/study-electric-cars-emit-more-co2-than-diesel-vehicles/">wrote</a> about the study, and far-right conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson <a href="https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1120452539017826306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1120452539017826306&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcitizen.co.za%2Flifestyle%2Ftechnology%2F2121676%2Fviral-study-slammed-electric-cars-are-not-dirtier-than-diesel%2F">tweeted</a> about the Infowars piece. The right-wing website Zero Hedge <a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-21/new-study-shocks-electric-cars-considerably-worse-climate-diesel-cars">wrote</a> about the study too, and a <a href="https://twitter.com/FBastiat1/status/1120315662809935872">tweet</a> pointing to that post was <a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2019/04/25/mandy_ev_tweet.png">retweeted</a> by <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/02/epa-official-launches-dark-money-grp-promoting-trump-agenda/">Mandy Gunasekara</a>, a former Trump EPA official and current Fox News contributor.

After The Wall Street Journal wrote about the study, still more right-wing outlets covered it, including <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/24/tesla-carbon-dioxide-mercedes/">The Daily Caller</a>, which has a <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060213559">long record</a> of inaccurate reporting on climate and energy issues, and <a href="https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/scam-century-scientific-study-destroys-electric-car-debate/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=PostSideSharingButtons&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons">The Western Journal</a>, a conservative news outlet with a <a href="https://climatefeedback.org/evaluation/western-journal-op-ed-deceives-readers-with-completely-unsupported-claims-jay-lehr-tom-harris/">history</a> of deceptive climate claims.

<h2>The Wall Street Journal has a long track record of misleading on climate and energy issues</h2>

The Wall Street Journal's opinion pages have <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/534ec657e4b03c887dde2641/t/575f6edd20c647ff95c170a0/1465872094069/FINAL_CN_WSJ_white_paper-0613.pdf">spread misinformation</a> about climate change for decades. A Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2016/09/01/study-newspaper-opinion-pages-feature-science-denial-and-other-climate-change-misinformation/212700">study</a>

found that from January 2015 to August 2016, one-third of the paper’s

climate-related opinion pieces contained climate denial or other

inaccurate statements about climate change. We’ve <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2016/09/01/analysis-wall-street-journal-opinion-section-chief-apologist-exxon-s-climate-change-deceit/212749">also found</a> that the paper's opinion section is ExxonMobil’s chief apologist for its climate change lies, and it has <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2016/12/20/twofer-editorial-proves-wall-street-journal-denial-about-fracking-and-climate-change/214877">defended</a> the fracking industry against accusations that it contaminates drinking water. According to a recent <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/01/if-you-cant-deny-it-downplay-it">article</a> in Current Affairs, the Journal has

shifted in recent years from denying climate change to downplaying it,

but still remains an impediment to clean energy and climate action. The Wall Street Journal

has always been a pro-polluter, pro-industry paper, so it’s no surprise

that it would overlook flaws and publicize questionable research that

disparages a direct threat to the fossil-fuel industry.

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    <dl class="item-taxonomy"><dt>
          <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong class="grey-nine">Posted In</strong></font>
        </dt><dd>
          <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/issues/environment-science">Environment & Science</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/issues/climate-change">Climate Change</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/issues/energy">Energy</a></font>        </dd><dt class="idislikeieseven"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br /></font></dt><dt>
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          <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/networks-and-outlets/wall-street-journal">Wall Street Journal</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/networks-and-outlets/daily-caller">The Daily Caller</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/networks-and-outlets/infowars">Infowars</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/networks-and-outlets/western-journal">Western Journal</a></font>        </dd><dt class="idislikeieseven"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br /></font></dt><dt>
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          <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/people/steve-milloy">Steve Milloy</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/people/paul-joseph-watson">Paul Joseph Watson</a></font>        </dd><dt class="idislikeieseven"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br /></font></dt><dt>
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          <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/stories-and-interests/climate-change">Climate Change</a>, <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/stories-and-interests/electric-vehicles">Electric Vehicles</a></font>        </dd></dl></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font>