ACTIVIST CLAIM: EU Lawmakers vote in favor of de facto ban on sale of internal combustion vehicles to prevent climate crisis.
THE FACTS: Electric Vehicles have massive environmental impacts and issues that still need to be sorted out – including their reliance on rare-earth minerals often mined in conflict zones.
THE SOURCES:
EU lawmakers endorse ban on combustion-engine cars in 2035
Here’s some facts and sources to have a reasoned conversation about EVs
- Until oil and gas production is net-zero, electric vehicles will produce emissions. Investing in carbon tech to reduce emissions is critical. According to the U.N.’s International Panel on Climate Change, carbon tech solutions will reduce almost as many emissions as renewables can reduce by the end of the century.
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/srccs_chapter8-1.pdf - A full transition to renewables also has an environmental impact. Demand for lithium, graphite, nickel, and rare-earth metals will rise 4,200%, 2,500%, 1,900%, and 700%, respectively, by 2040. This would require mining around the world at a historically unprecedented scale – often in conflict zones – requiring new discoveries and technology to manage these massive environmental and social impacts.
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-
- EVs are not fully net-zero depending on the energy source used to produce electricity. For example, due to geopolitical risk, Germany increased its coal use to help provide enough energy to produce electricity.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-11/europe-ramps-up-coal-burning-with-natural-gas-out-of-favor - Even though they do not directly use oil and gas to power them, EVs rely on petrochemical products and plastics in their manufacturing process.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-oil-electric-vehicle/
Stories that get it right
Three myths you might have heard
With the government of BC announcing a sweeping overhaul of its natural gas royalty framework, supposed experts have emerged from their wintering caves to lecture British Columbians on the errors of their fuel-intensive ways.
