Electric vehicles are worse for the environment than gas cars because of battery production.

Question

Largely speaking, the claim that electric vehicles are worse for the environment in comparison to gas cars is untrue. While it is true that the production of EVs and their batteries contribute to more carbon emissions upfront compared to gas powered cars, there are multiple scientific studies that show that over a course of a car’s lifetime EVs emit substantially lower greenhouse gases.

This misconception is likely rooted in the manufacturing phase of cars, as battery production involves mining and refining resources leading to large environmental consequences. The MIT Climate Panel stats that, “building the 80 kWh lithium-ion battery … creates between 2.5 and 16 metric tons of CO₂ … This intensive battery manufacturing means that building a new EV can produce around 80% more emissions than building a comparable gas-powered car”. However, this is just one part of the larger view, because once on the road, EVs generate literally no tailpipe emissions. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, “emissions over the lifetime of average medium-size BEVs [battery electric vehicles] registered today are already lower than comparable gasoline cars by 66%–69% in Europe, 60%–68% in the United States, 37%–45% in China, and 19%–34% in India”.

Furthermore, EVs have a break-even point wherein their operational emissions outweigh their manufacturing, as cited by Reuters, “drive another 13,500 miles (21,725 km) before you're doing less harm to the environment than a gas-guzzling saloon”.

Thus, the claim is unfounded and overall, an EV is better for the environment compared to a gas-powered car.

Answer 1

No, through the entire life of a vehicle, electric vehicles are not worse for the environment than gas cars even including battery production. In the article written by NPR, it discusses the large amount of fossil fuels burned up front to mine the lithium. However, with new technology they are finding cleaner ways to extract the lithium and are also recycling the minerals within the batteries used in electric cars. This is backed up by the article written by the Advanced Power Alliance which mentions that previous studies show throughout a car’s lifetime, EV’s produce 60-70% less emissions compared to a gas powered vehicle. Even though electric vehicles start off their life with more emissions produced because of their batteries, gas powered cars quickly pass them in emitting more emissions during their life. On top of their lifetime, EV’s also use their energy more efficiently. 79-81% of the battery goes to propel the vehicle while gas powered cars are only able to convert less than a third of that amount.

Sources: 

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250212212/ev-batteries-environmental-impact

https://poweralliance.org/2024/11/21/no-electric-vehicles-are-not-worse-for-the-environment-than-gas-powered-cars-theyre-much-cleaner/

Answer 2

I did some digging into the idea that electric vehicles (EVs) might actually be worse for the environment than gas cars due to battery production. There is some truth to this, but it's not the whole picture. Making EV batteries, particularly lithium-ion ones, does come with a hefty environmental price tag. According to Earth.org (2024), producing just one electric car releases nearly 4 tonnes of CO₂, and the car needs to be driven for at least 8 years to balance out those emissions. Plus, mining for materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel uses a lot of water and pollutes the areas where mining takes place. But recent studies indicate that the environmental impact of EVs improves over time, especially as the energy grid gets cleaner and recycling methods get better. Rahman and Canter (2023) found that recycling cut the climate impacts of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by about 8.3%, and using renewable energy for charging led to a 9.4% reduction. So, while battery production is resource heavy right now, advances in recycling, renewable energy usage, and more efficient manufacturing are making EVs a cleaner option than gas cars over their lifetime.

Earth.org. (2024, March 19). The environmental impact of battery production for electric vehicles. https://earth.org/environmental-impact-of-battery-production/

Rahman, M. M., & Canter, C. (2023). Life cycle assessment of battery electric vehicles considering battery refurbishment and recycling under future electricity sector changes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 422, 138568. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9171403/ 

Answer 3

That's not quite right. Yes, manufacturing electric cars mostly the batteries can run up more carbon emissions than building a gasoline car from the start. Mining and getting the materials that are used in car batteries can be very high on emissions. But if you add up the entire lifetime of a car, EVs are far cleaner than gas cars. Studies from the EPA and reports like NPR show that once you drive an EV, its zero emissions quickly outweigh the extra emissions from manufacturing the car. Depending on how far you drive, an EV is usually cleaner than a gas car after just over 10,000 miles.

I would say the claim is false and Misleading. EVs have a bigger footprint at the outset, but over time they are cleaner than gas cars.

Sorces 

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths 

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250212212/ev-batteries-environmental-impact

Answer 4

The claim that electric vehicles are worse for the environment than gas cars because of battery production is false. The US environmental protection agency states that electric vehicles tend to have a smaller carbon footprint compared to gas cars, even when putting charging into consideration. In addition, they are more efficient than gas cars in terms of energy usage. They still create carbon pollution, it is less than compared to gas cars. Even in terms of battery production, the greenhouse gas emissions are less than gas cars in the long run, on average.

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths#Myth3

NPR states that the production of electric vehicles produces more of a carbon footprint than the production of gas cars. But, as soon as it starts running, the electric vehicle is better than the gas car, even when including the production of them. Every car is a little bit different and therefore the impacts they have on the climate are a little bit different, but there is an overall trend that electric vehicles have less of a carbon footprint.

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/09/1250212212/ev-batteries-environmental-impact