Myth: EVs Are Just as (or more) Polluting as ICE Cars
There are frequent claims that electric vehicles are as polluting, or even more polluting, as the petrol and diesel cars they are going to replace.
Some of this is based upon the fact that EVs do indeed have a greater environmental impact during the construction phase. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has stated that emissions from electric vehicle production are higher than those created by building an internal combustion-engined vehicle. One of the studies indicated that CO2 emissions from electric car production are almost 60% higher than those for the production of ICE vehicles.
This is largely because of the battery manufacturing process, and attempts are being made to improve this, bot in terms of the minerals used and the methods of obtaining them, and the increased use of renewable energies. Volkswagen, as an example, claim that their EVs are built in a carbon neutral manner and more manufacturers are bound to follow the same path.
However, once an electric vehicle begins its life on the roads, the bulk of its emissions have already been expended. On the other hand, for cars and other vehicles with combustion engines, a long period of tailpipe emissions is just beginning. And it’s not just those tailpipe emissions. It’s the whole process of getting the fuel to the filling station in the first place.
The majority of the electricity generated in the UK (and in the US, amongst others) is from renewable sources, meaning the EVs are primarily getting charged from renewable sources, rather than fossil fuel plants. Some public charging hubs have their own sustainable energy sourcing facilities, such as solar, and many homeowners also have solar power to help with the generation of ‘free’ electricity for their EVs.
The above was shared frequently as a meme to try and show the hypocrisy of viewing EVs as clean vehicles. However, it was inherently flawed. Even if an EV was powered 100% by electricity generated by fossil fuel power stations, they would still be responsible for a smaller carbon footprint than a car with ann internal combustion engine.
But, a lot (not all) of the emissions from a car with an internal combustion engine are pumped directly into our local environments. They are spewed out from the car’s exhaust into the areas where we live, where we shop and where our children go to school.
However, in the UK, less than 50% of the electricity generated by the National Grid comes from fossil fuels. Furthermore, many households have their own solar power, reducing not just their reliance on the grid, but also, therefore, their use of fossil fuel.
There are obviously emissions and a significant carbon footprint from the manufacture of an electric vehicle. However, the degree of this (over and above that of the building of a car with an internal combustion engine, is relatively small when compared to the savings made once you start driving. A full battery electric vehicle becomes less polluting in comparison to an act with an internal combustion engine in as little as 15-30,000 miles. Given that several car manufacturers now commit to carbon offsetting and manufacturing their cars in a net zero manner, this might even be less than that.
It’s also worth noting that, whilst some people go on about the carbon footprint of manufacturing the batteries for EVs, few mention the huge cost of mining for the oil that is then refined into the fuel for our cars, or the massive environmental cost of that process itself.
There is no doubt that, whilst driving any vehicle has an environmental impact, buying and driving an EV is less harmful than buying and driving a car with a petrol or diesel engine.
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