Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here’s why
By Camila Domonoske | NPR
May 10, 2024 | Full story
With all that’s required to mine and process minerals — from giant diesel trucks to fossil-fuel-powered refineries — EV battery production has a significant carbon footprint. As a result, building an electric vehicle does more damage to the climate than building a gas car does. But the gas car starts to catch up as soon as it goes its first mile.
“The results were clearer than we thought, actually.”
Georg Bieker, with the International Council on Clean Transportation
If you look at the climate impact of building and using a vehicle – something called a “lifecycle analysis” – study after study has found a clear benefit to EVs. The size of the benefit varies – by vehicle, the source of the electricity it runs on, and a host of other factors – but the overall trend is obvious.
“A traditional car needs mining every day, needs mining every time it’s used. It needs the whole extraction complex of fossil fuels in order to power it.”
Thea Riofrancos
The carbon pollution from burning gasoline and diesel in vehicles is the top contributor to climate change in the U.S. And there are other costs: Oil spills; funding for corrupt oil-rich regimes; the illnesses and preventable deaths caused by pollution from fossil fuels.
Add it up, she says, and if you’re concerned about all the harms from mining, you’ll still want to choose an EV over a comparable gas car. And last but not least, battery minerals can be recycled.
The Energy Age 