“The average electric car puts 2.24 times more stress on roads than a similar petrol vehicle – and 1.95 more than a diesel.” [University of Leeds]
“If you must buy a car, the bottom line is that EVs still cause less environmental damage than petrol or diesel engine cars when you measure their emissions over their lifetime.” [Michael Day, i-news]
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We could dismiss scepticism about EVs as a cloak for general climate denialism:
A new paper published by the conservative think tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), raises environmental concerns with electric vehicles in what appears to be the latest attempt by organizations associated with fossil fuel funding to pump the brakes on the transportation sector’s transition away from petroleum and towards cleaner electricity...
The main arguments presented in the new CEI report boil down to critiques of electric battery production and disposal as well as the source of electricity powering those vehicles. Through previous reporting and via the Transportation Integrity Project, DeSmog has debunked these points before...
And indeed, these pages have looked at the whole battery production story: Cobalt in your car battery: the ethics of mining minerals – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Moreover, it is quite legitimate to question the viability of the technology:
“Making a new car creates as much carbon pollution as driving it, so it’s often better to keep your old banger on the road than to upgrade to a greener model.” [Mike Mike Berners-Lee, a leading expert in carbon footprinting]
“But if you must buy a car, the bottom line is that EVs still cause less environmental damage than petrol or diesel engine cars when you measure their emissions over their lifetime.” [Michael Day, i-news]
How ‘green’ are electric vehicles? – Vision Group for Sidmouth
And healthy debate is surely a good thing: Are electric vehicles really so climate friendly? | Hans-Werner Sinn | The Guardian and Yes, electric vehicles really are better than fossil fuel burners | William Todts | The Guardian and The EV Transition Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks – IEEE Spectrum
Here’s the latest in that debate, with a report in today’s Mail. It in turn comes from a report from the climate-sceptical-ish Telegraph and perhaps focusses too much on potholes. But, still, it does make the point that EVs are heavier than other vehicles:
A study led by the University of Leeds found the average electric car puts 2.24 times more stress on roads than a similar petrol vehicle – and 1.95 more than a diesel. Larger electric vehicles can cause up to 2.32 times more damage to roads. This research, analysed by The Telegraph, comes as the UK suffers a pothole crisis, with an estimated £12 billion needed to fill them…
The weight of cars has become an increasing issue for potholes in recent years, as buyers shift towards larger heavier petrol and diesel SUVs. The move to even heavier electric cars, particularly SUV-style ones, will cause greater stress on road surfaces… This is largely because electric cars have heavy batteries, which can weigh up to 500kg.
Britain’s pothole crisis could be made worse by electric cars | Daily Mail Online
Finally: of course, any heavy vehicle is going to damage the road surface – whether electric, petrol or diesel: Hey, SUV monsters – get off our roads! and ‘A deadly problem’: should we ban SUVs from our cities? | Cities | The Guardian and Opinion: Cars have a weight problem, and it’s damaging more than the environment | Hagerty UK