Standards Development

Scope

The scope of this document is the systems assessment of how the dynamic carbon emission measurement for electric vehicles (EVs) in the operation phase could be put into large scale implementation in less than 5-10 years in most regions around the world.

Although in the operation stage, the EVs do not directly emit CO ₂ via exhaust like internal combustion engine vehicles, their electricity consumption —when derived from fossil fuels—still contributes to CO₂ emissions. The carbon intensity of electricity varies dynamically over time and location, while actions by user and operator (e.g., procuring renewable via electricity markets or increasing distributed renewable generation) further dynamically influence e missions. This systems assessment demands coordinated interaction across multiple systems, including vehicle system, power system, charging system, distributed energy resources (DERs), and carbon accounting system, etc. Moreover, it is applicable to service key stakeholders including EV users, fleet owners , charging point operators (CPOs), freight operators, and carbon accounting entities, etc.

This document provides a systems assessment of dynamic carbon emission measurement for EVs in the operation phase, including the analysis of its impacts on sustainability goals, the representative use cases, key roles and actors, challenges and requirement s for solutions. It will also provide an overview of existing standardization work from both inside IEC and ISO and external organizations, identifies the standards gaps and future needs, and proposes recommendations for future standardization work. It aims to improve the international standardization system and strengthen effective collaboration among relevant standardization committees to advance the global efforts towards a more sustainable electrified transportation.

Purpose

According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector accounted for 23% of global energy -related CO2 emissions, with 70% of the direct transport emissions originating from road vehicles. In recent years, the electrif ication of road vehicles has emerged as a cornerstone strategy for weaning the road transportation off fossil fuels, especially with major breakthroughs achieved in electric vehicles (EVs) development around the world.

While EVs do not emit CO₂directly through tailpipe exhaust like internal combustion engine vehicles, their operation phase can still generate indirect emissions if the electricity they consume is derived from fossil fuels. Therefore, assessing the carbon reduction contribution of EVs requires a comprehensive Well-to-Wheels (WTW) fuel-cycle analysis. Currently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) provides an online calculator for EV WTW emissions calculation during operation phase, and ISO 14083—a widely recognized international standard—establishes a standardized framework for reporting the WTW emissions of EVs.

However, existing IEA calculator and ISO 14067 framework are using the static calculation models. Specifically, they multiply a fixed per-kilowatt-hour carbon emission factor (typically issued by IEA or other international or governmental bodies and update d annually) by total electricity consumption to calculate the carbon emission of EVs. 

It should be emphasized that current static carbon emission measurement methodologies for EVs fail to capture the dynamic nature of electricity-related emissions(which fluctuate significantly over time) and overlook proactive decarbonization actions by charge point operators(CPO), EV users, or fleet operators—such as timing charging with high renewable penetration, procuring green power, deploying on-site PV/wind DERs, or utilizing Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. Thus, EV operation-phase carbon measurement should shift from static to dynamic systems.

Therefore, the IEC SyC SET approved "Dynamic Carbon Measurement for SET" as a key task and formally established a PWI at the 4th plenary meeting to advance preliminary work on the systems assessment SRD for dynamic carbon measurement for EVs in operation p hase. The PWI team has made progress, including outlining the SRD, defining scope, analyzing sustainability impacts, identifying use cases, clarifying stakeholder roles, summarizing global standards, and conducting expert interviews.

Dynamic carbon emission measurement offers a comprehensive approach to assessing the temporal and geographical variations in electricity-related emissions from EVs, while simultaneously motivating automakers and charging infrastructure operators to reduce emissions via strategies like green power procurement, distributed renewable deployment, and V2G technologies. This systems assessment requires coordinated interaction among multiple systems including vehicle system, power system, charging system, distributed energy resources (DERs), and carbon accounting system, etc., which fall under the scopes of various IEC technical committees such as TC 13 (focusing on electrical energy measurement systems), TC 69 (addressing charging systems), TC 8 (developing stand ards for distributed energy resource integration with power grids), and the SyC Smart Energy's "24/7 Carbon Free Energy Standardization Pathways" SRD project.

The initial assessments reveal significant gaps in real-time carbon emission data exchange among key stakeholders (utilities, charging point operators, EV users, fleet owners, freight operators, carbon accounting entities,etc.). This highlights the urgent need for cross-sector data interoperability mechanisms and standardized interfaces to enable per -kWh dynamic carbon intensity labeling, reliable emission source tracking, and facilitate regulatory oversight and commercial use of dynamic carbon accounting. Such work is critical to unlocking electric mobility’s full decarbonization potential and ensuring transparent, verifiable emissions reductions across the transport ecosystem.

This project adopts a sustainability-focused approach to electrified transportation, systematically reviewing existing international standards for dynamic EV carbon emission measurement, analyzing use cases, and identifying challenges via stakeholder consu ltations. It identifies gaps and emerging needs in current standardization frameworks, proposes actionable recommendations for international standardization of related systems and interfaces, and will deliver a Systems Reference Deliverable (SRD) to guide industry actors, standard setters, and regulators in accelerating dynamic carbon accounting adoption. Additionally, it will drive the renewable electricity usage rate of electric vehicles to exceed the average regional levels of conventional power users, significantly enhancing the contribution of electric mobility to global decarbonization.