8/16/22, 1:15 PM Benefits of Electric Cars on Environment | EV & Petrol Cars | EDF
Are electric cars better for the environment?
The major benefit of electric cars is the contribution that they can make towards improving air quality in towns and cities. With
no tailpipe, pure electric cars produce no carbon dioxide emissions when driving. This reduces air pollution considerably.
Put simply, electric cars give us cleaner streets making our towns and cities a better place to be for pedestrians and cyclists.
In over a year, just one electric car on the roads can save an average 1.5 million grams of CO2. That’s the equivalent of four
return flights from London to Barcelona.
Electric cars and UK's Net Zero target
According to the Mayor of London, road transport accounts for around half of the capital's air pollution. It’s no wonder that the
UK government and local councils want to accelerate the number of electric cars on the roads. The UK government has set a
target that the sale of petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2040. The government is also looking to reduce carbon
emissions to zero by 2050, and electric cars will play a big role in that.
What's more, EVs can also help with noise pollution, especially in cities where speeds are generally low. As electric cars are
far quieter than conventional vehicles, driving electric creates a more peaceful environment for us all.
Compare an electric vs petrol car
The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology has put a fabulous tool together to help you compare the overall
environmental impact of electric cars vs internal combustion engine (petrol) cars. The main aim is to let users understand why,
how, and in which cases electro-mobility is actually performing according to its green image, by cutting per-km emissions from
its fossil fuel-based counterpart. A second objective is to show in which conditions electric vehicles may "counter-perform":
what happens when the battery size changes; or the background electricity mix; the battery lifetime; what about winter
conditions affecting battery performances?
How does electric car production affect the environment?
Making electric cars does use a lot of energy. Even after taking battery manufacture into account, electric cars are still a
greener option. This is because of the reduction in emissions created over the car’s lifetime
The emissions created during the production of an electric car tend to be higher than a conventional car. This is due to the
manufacture of lithium ion batteries which are an essential part of an electric car. More than a third of the lifetime CO2
emissions from an electric car come from the energy used to make the car itself. As technology advances, this is changing for
the better.
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