The transport challenge – beyond electric cars
Shutterstock/Simon Collins
With the sale of new petrol and diesel cars set to be banned in the UK by 2030 the electric car market is ready to skyrocket, but does replacing like-with-like go far enough? Joel Rawson looks at the benefits and impacts of electric vehicles and explores ways of reducing overall car use.
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he electric vehicle (EV) industry is moving quickly. At some point this decade the cost of an EV is expected to drop below other cars, while lower running costs can already make an EV a better long term investment. Battery improvements mean drivers can now make a bigger carbon saving by going straight to a fully electric vehicle, without the stepping stone of a hybrid car.
However, just switching to EVs won’t solve our transport problems. There are still manufacturing impacts (particularly for batteries), particulate emissions from tyre and road wear, and traffic congestion and road safety issues. Plus the cost of a new car is out of reach for many. This article covers some of the potential benefits and impacts, and how car sharing and e-bikes can enable efficient electric travel for more of us.
What are the carbon savings?
There are many studies comparing the impacts of electric vehicles with petrol and diesel cars. The main finding is that fuel emissions dominate the lifetime carbon emissions for a conventional car. That’s not only exhaust emissions, but also those during oil production, refining and delivery. Carbon Brief has a useful factcheck drawing on various studies, comparing
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