Why electric cars really are better for the environment

Electric vehicles (EVs) do not produce any emissions, making them an environmentally-friendly form of transport.

That’s the elevator pitch for EVs, but the reality is that the shift toward clean transport is far more complicated than it initially appears.

One of the most common criticisms of EVs is that the electricity they use is still generated by plants using fossil fuels such as coal, which contradicts the idea that electric transport actually produces zero carbon emissions.

There is also the argument that the production of EVs creates more pollution and greenhouse gases than manufacturing internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, with batteries often being cited as the main culprit.

Efficient production

It is true that EVs are more carbon-intensive to produce than ICEs – at least for now.

The average EV is estimated to create anywhere from two to 17 metric tonnes of CO2 during production while the average ICE produces around seven metric tonnes of CO2 before reaching showrooms.

The main reason EVs are so carbon-intensive to make is because of their batteries, which require the mining of raw minerals of such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

However, once an EV is on the road, it generates no emissions while the average ICE will contribute about 4.6 metric tonnes of CO2 every year, meaning that EVs will ultimately be the more environmentally friendly choice over the vehicle’s lifespan.

The initially-high environmental cost of EVs is still not ideal, though, as according to the aforementioned figures it will take roughly two years for an EV to make up the difference in CO2 compared to an ICE.

What is important to remember in the argument of EVs versus ICE is that it is comparing technology that is in its infancy to a technology that is at its zenith.

Internal combustion engines have been around since the industrial revolution, meaning they’ve had over a century to reach the levels of efficiency they do now.

Modern electric cars, on the other hand, are a relatively-new technology that has only started to take off in the last decade or so, and as such, their production is still very inefficient as they account for a fraction of global vehicle output.

This is where concepts like economies of scale come into play – a term that refers to how the cost of production per unit decreases as the number of units produced goes up.

As EVs become more widely adopted, carmakers will shift their efforts towards electric production, which will ultimately lead to EVs being produced more affordably and efficiently.

Given that many countries have already pledged to eliminate the sale of ICE cars by 2035, the tipping point in the efficient production of EVs may be a lot sooner than many people think.

Automakers such as Lexus and Stellantis – the latter of which owns brands like Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Opel, and Peugeot – have already pledged to become fully electric within the next decade, showing that the electric transition is right around the corner in the grand scheme of things.

Clean energy

This leaves us with the issue of where an EV’s power comes from.

That earlier statement that EVs generate no emissions, while ostensibly true, carries the asterisk that the majority of the world’s electricity still comes from the burning of fossil fuels.

While this may seem to defeat the point of electric transport, the reality is that EVs still create less CO2 than ICE cars even when relying on power generated by carbon sources.

In China – a country where nearly all of its electricity comes from coal plants – an EV is expected to produce 24% fewer emissions through electricity consumption than an equivalent ICE car running on petrol or diesel.

Countries such as Norway, meanwhile, have a high EV adoption rate and are almost entirely reliant on renewable energy sources such as hydro-electric dams, meaning their cars are both producing zero tailpipe emissions directly and also running on clean power.

In this regard, it’s possible that electric cars will end up being the catalyst for green energy adoption around the world, as countries try to move towards emissions-free transport and cleaner electricity to power it all.

It’s an issue that is far larger than the automotive sector, and one that will require governments to continue investing in new-energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro-electric, and nuclear to solve the world’s growing demand for electricity.

The results would be a massive step towards combating climate change, as eliminating tailpipe emissions would reduce global CO2 production by roughly 20%, and transitioning to clean electricity would eliminate another 50% of all greenhouse gases emitted worldwide.

Even if certain countries continue to rely on fossil fuels in the future, electric cars will still be more environmentally friendly than their petrol counterparts thanks to their lower CO2 output over an equal lifespan.