As electric cars become more common and less expensive, their impact on climate change is becoming clearer by the day. Greenhouse gas emissions from internal combustion engines is a known threat, but the emissions created while building an electric vehicle have caused many people to wonder how green EVs actually are.
While it’s true that fossil fuels are burned during the mining and refinement processes required for battery production, the lifetime emissions of EVs are significantly lower than emissions that gas-powered cars create.
It takes a power plant of some sort to generate electricity, but regardless of the power source, electricity means nothing without batteries or a way to store the power. A life cycle assessment of electric cars must account for electricity generation and its effects on the environment, because even the most efficiently and responsibly produced lithium ion batteries have a carbon footprint.
The good news is that the U.S. Department of Energy and other major government agencies are gathering data on the effects that the electric car has on the environment. Measuring the carbon footprint is a good start, but as the EV gains popularity in the United States, it’s clear that batteries cannot be produced without consequence.
Here are a few things to consider when thinking about electric car emissions.
Electricity Generation
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Once an EV is on the road, the emissions it creates are almost nonexistent compared to fossil fuel cars, but that doesn’t mean that charging electric vehicles is a penalty-free activity. How and where the electricity generation that charges electric cars occurs matters. Depending on the country and its main electricity sources, charging an electric car can be far better than life cycle emissions from fossil fuel cars. The exception here are the few countries whose main energy sources for electricity are fossil fuels like coal.
Power plants that rely on renewable resources—such as wind, hydro, solar energy, and even nuclear power—do not create carbon emissions at a rate that makes charging an EV worse than fueling a gasoline vehicle.
Construction of Electric Vehicles
Vehicle emissions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to CO2 emissions and vehicles. Manufacturing emissions, including transportation of the raw materials needed to build a car battery, can be vast. Building the batteries themselves creates carbon dioxide, and then transporting the batteries across oceans or countries requires vehicles, such as ships and trains, that don’t yet have the capability to run on electricity.
Battery manufacturing and its impacts on the environment can also vary between regions, which makes measuring their effects on global warming hard to measure. Studies have shown that in the United States, for instance, battery manufacturing produces fewer greenhouse gases than those produced in China and elsewhere. Because batteries are being produced across the planet, the variance in emissions created during the manufacturing process may be impossible to measure.
Climate Targets
Governments around the world, from the US to the UK to several others are seemingly finally realizing that the planet is warming and humans’ impacts on the process don’t have to be a permanent way of life. Air pollution and an overall ruining of our environment have accelerated rapidly in recent years as the planet warms, and sea levels rise.
Policy changes and pledges to shift the primary energy source for cars have been a major topic in International politics, but it will still be years before a meaningful reducing in emissions occurs. Media reports of rapid climate change and other issues that arise from the continued and unabated use of fossil cars are frightening, but until governments get fully on board with batteries as the best way to power vehicles going forward, the process will continue.
Tailpipe Emissions
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Though the petrol car will eventually be phased out largely in favor of electric cars, it’s hard to ignore the progress automakers have made with the combustion engine. Through smaller displacements and forced induction, gas engines are now quite efficient, requiring fewer trips to gas stations and lower emissions over a lifetime of operation.
It’s true that a life-cycle assessment will show that gas vehicles produce greenhouse gases and have a far more negative effect on human health, but the data show that internal combustion engines are cleaner now than they ever have been before.
Do electric cars take gas?
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If you’ve recently learned about hybrid vehicles—or even plug-in hybrids—you wouldn’t be faulted to think that electric vehicles might require gas at some point to operate. While it’s true that hybrids require fuel, pure battery-electric vehicles do not. They run solely on stored energy. Their electric motors derive power from battery packs, which need to be recharged after their range is exhausted.
What are the pros of owning an electric vehicle?
REDUCED MAINTENANCE
It’s true that gas vehicles are usually less expensive and easier to refuel, but there are several benefits to owning an EV that have nothing to do with costs. One of the biggest pros of owning an electric car is the reduced need for regular maintenance. There are no oil changes, no mechanical components to break underhood, no exhaust system, and the life of other components such as brakes can be extended. Many people report that driving an electric car is more relaxing than a gas vehicle, because of the lack of engine noise.
MORE PERFORMANCE
Many electric models offer significant performance benefits over gas vehicles as well. This applies not only to intended high-performance cars from Porsche, Tesla, and others, but even to everyday commuter vehicles. The immediate torque and acceleration can make electric cars exhilarating to drive, and make them quicker than most people expect, depending on driving habits.
TAX INCENTIVES
There may also be tax credits available, depending on the electric car you opt for. The United States government offers a one-time tax credit of up to $7,500 to buyers of eligible electric cars—and various states offer tax credits on select models, too—which lowers the effective cost of the purchase.
All of that, and we haven’t even mentioned the complete reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in everyday driving and the fact that gas prices fluctuate wildly. Fuel costs are a big motivator for many buyers.
What are the cons of electric cars?
ACCESS TO CHARGING
There are a few downsides to owning an electric car that might not be immediately apparent when you are standing on the dealer’s lot trying to make a car purchase. Depending on your location, you may or may not have ready access to charging stations. This is especially true for people who live in apartment buildings or those who rent, as it can be impossible to install a home charging system.
TIME TO CHARGE
You may also find that electric cars take too long to charge, even if there is a charging station nearby. Unlike filling up a gas tank, which can take a few minutes, most electric vehicles take much longer to recover a sizable portion of their range. This can make road trips impractical for many, as the requirement to stop and charge for half an hour or more can turn a simple trip into a long, painful one.
COST TO BUY
Last, there is the issue of purchase cost. Electric cars, no matter the type, size, or technology, are usually more expensive than comparable gas vehicles.
How long do EVs last?
The battery in an electric car starts to break down after a while, just like any other electrical component. Over time, the batteries in an electric car begin to lose capacity to store energy. Cars are only useful if they can travel their advertised range, so an electric car with a bad battery is nearly worthless.
Automakers issue warranties for the batteries and electrical components in EVs, just like they would for any other car. In many cases, these warranties extend to 10 years or 100,000 miles, which means that the battery in an electric car can be repaired or replaced if it breaks within that time.
