We should all be aware by now that transportation accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. And millions of people around the world have embraced the electric car as the answer to that problem. However, even such an obvious and necessary solution deserves critical analysis. Are electric cars truly sustainable?
The environmental law organization EarthJustice says that electric vehicles really are better for the earth than combustion engines.
“Over its lifetime, the average new electric vehicle produces about half the greenhouse gas emissions of an equivalent vehicle burning gasoline or diesel.”
But what about the impacts of mining for rare earths? The lithium-ion cells that power most electric vehicles rely on raw materials — like cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements — that have been linked to grave environmental and human rights concerns. EarthJustice says:
“Both mining for minerals to make a battery and drilling for oil to fill a gas tank create serious environmental impacts — but the scale of impact differs wildly. … A calculation by the European Federation for Transport and Environment found that the lifetime fuel consumption of a traditional car requires a tower of oil barrels as high as a 25-story building. The metals needed to make an EV battery, meanwhile, are about the size of a microwave oven.”
But sustainability requires also that we don’t damage earth’s inhabitants, so what about the human rights concerns? The New York Times reports that
“as much as 70 percent of the world’s cobalt supply is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a substantial proportion in unregulated ‘artisanal’ mines where workers — including many children — dig the metal from the earth using only hand tools at great risk to their health and safety…”.
So we definitely need to advocate for improved mining practices.
And another huge negative of the electric vehicles solution is that it require us to embrace all the other features of Car Culture: the congestion, accidents, noise pollution, and land used for parking and highways.
The Polytechnique Institute in France has a break down of the place of the electric car in the decarbonization of our mobility. They highlight that the most important first steps (even if you own an electric car) are to:
- Reduce your transport demands by cutting back on your trips;
- Reduce your use of cars and planes by favoring walking, cycling, trains, and buses as much as possible;
- And improve vehicle occupancy, in particular through carpooling.
Only after you address those steps can you rest on the laurels of the improved energy efficiency and decarbonization of the electric car. The Polytechnique conclude:
“As far as the car is concerned, the electric car must be encouraged, because it is the best alternative to get rid of oil, but it cannot be seen as a miracle cure… because it is not.”
