Introduction
Considering the tragic nature of so many global events that prevail today, it would be easy to let our attention be distracted from the worsening prospects of climate change. A year after our last discussion (1), the question remains - are we doing enough?
On occasions, satirical images can nail the issue.
Incentives
A recent press report (2) reveals that Norway has just become the first nation (and an oil-producing one) where electric cars now outnumber petrol cars. More precisely, the figures show that of the 2.8m private cars registered in the Nordic country (population of 5.5 million), 754,303 cars are all-electric, against 753,905 that run on petrol.
This result demonstrates the success of the Norwegian Government’s policy. As an example of intent, it has set an ambitious target. All new cars being sold have to be zero emission vehicles by 2025, which is 10 years ahead of the EU’s goal. To that end, and to help meet its climate commitments, Norway’s authorities have offered generous tax rebates on EVs, making them competitively priced compared with fuel, diesel and hybrid cars.
In contrast, the Government at Westminster post-Brexit has withdrawn earlier financial incentives. My interest was piqued three or four years ago by a combination of a £4000 diesel trade-in scrappage scheme along with a £5,000 grant to help buy a new EV. Within a year or two both carrots were withdrawn.
Likewise the availability of charging stations at no cost to EV car owners was withdrawn just when I purchased an EV 18 months ago, as also were grants to help with the cost of installing EV chargers at home. There are continuing complaints about the lack of provision of public EV charging across the U.K with Northern Ireland being the worst. These shortcomings presumably reflect “the pressures on public spending in the world’s seventh largest economy” with its mandate to take back control.
No hints of any return of these financial incentives are apparent in the U.K. even with a change of Government in July 2024. A day before completing this article, I received a letter from the DVLA in Abertawe (Swansea) saying that from 1 April 2025 car tax on previously-exempt EVs will be introduced in the U.K., both for new and existing cars. This news hit like a shock not least as the change of policy has not yet been publicly announced by the new Government at Westminster, apart from a low-key website mention (3). In addition, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s heralded budget has not yet been presented to Parliament.
Peace and war
But is the withdrawal of incentives a false economy, when protection of public health, nature, climate adaptation and mitigation are placed on a lower level of priority? This rather than go on a quest to find savings elsewhere. Could there be an alternative argument, such as to raid the U.K’s war-chest? When, for example, the U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer warns (4) that “the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war,” is he not also conceding that the West’s role in arming that deadly conflict threatens rather than defends innocent citizens, peace and the environment?
Evidence of a changing climate
Every day there are graphic news stories illustrating the damage which ever more extreme weather is causing not just within the U.K. but on our European doorstep (5)
- never mind the havoc and distress in faraway places, often in “the (impoverished) third world” whose emissions are much lower than ours.
Everybody knows that the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is an existential problem, injurious to public health and bad for nature. In plain English, the toxicity in the air we breathe arises from:-
the burning fossil fuels for energy;
changes in land use and deforestation which reduce biodiversity and the numbers of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide; and
agricultural production which releases greenhouse gases from energy use, from the number of livestock and the amount of fertiliser applied to land.
The example of transport
Transport is the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gas across the U.K, with the U.K. Government’s own figures showing that it produces 26% of such emissions (6). The Department for Transport report estimates “that a petrol car journey from London to Glasgow emits approximately 4 times more carbon emissions per passenger than the equivalent journey by coach…. or 3 times more emissions per passenger than an electric car (taking into account emissions from electricity generation and distribution).” The report adds that “the same journey by plane would emit almost twice as much carbon per passenger as a journey by the average petrol car.”
The U.K’s broad climate change target, even after July’s General Election, remains the achievement of net zero by 2050; and as regards cars, the former PM Sunak’s revised target of allowing sales of petrol and diesel cars until 2035 remains. That’s a full decade less ambitious than Norway’s target.
Broadly speaking, the advantages of electric over petrol cars include the following:-
EVs emit zero exhaust emissions; they aren't fuelled by fossil fuels; they help to reduce air pollution; they reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and they help to improve air quality (especially in cities and built-up areas).
Moreover, EVs are more efficient than conventional combustion engined cars. That combined with the electricity cost means that charging an electric vehicle is cheaper than using petrol or diesel for travelling. Using renewable energy sources can make the use of electric vehicles more eco-friendly.
Natural power sources
Figures released this month by Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy (7) indicate that almost half of our electricity is sourced from renewable sources, especially wind power. Of the 7,244 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity consumed in Northern Ireland between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,319 GWh was generated from renewable sources; and of all the renewable electricity generated here, 82.3% was generated from wind.
Other figures in the report indicate that over a 10-year period total electricity consumed has fallen by 11.2% from 8,126 GWh in June 2014 to 7,244 in June 2024; while total renewable generation of electricity has increased by 115.6% from 1,539 GWh to 3,319 over the same period.
Car batteries
The manufacture of EVs has an environmental impact. They contain parts whose components - lithium-ion batteries - have to be mined, creating a significant carbon footprint. Fossil fuels are used in the manufacturing process to heat the raw minerals to very high temperatures. The mining of lithium, cobalt and nickel requires large amounts of water and can produce toxic waste. Although emissions deriving from lithium mining are lower than those deriving from fossil fuels production, the extraction methods for lithium and cobalt can be energy-intensive, leading to air and water pollution, land degradation, and potential for groundwater contamination.
Even then, however, experts recommend electric vehicles because, in sharp contrast to petrol-powered vehicles of about the same size, they produce only 60g of CO2/km. The difference is stark, as over the car's lifetime this results in 50% less CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Electric and hybrid vehicles can have significant emissions benefits over conventional vehicles. Unlike petrol cars, all-electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions.
Science
Overall, taking account of risks and benefits, the scientific consensus appears overwhelming: on any realistic like-for-like comparison, a battery EV will be cleaner than its petrol or diesel equivalent. Burning fossil fuels to make and drive electric cars will still cause emissions, but at a lower level than inefficient fossil fuel engines. The message from the research suggests that environmental issues in providing battery power for EVs do not nullify or outweigh the benefits of driving an EV.
Conclusion
When I take my EV in or out, there is no attendant whiff of poisonous gas to attack my nostrils. Likewise when cycling and stopped at traffic lights, being parked behind an EV rather than a petrol or diesel car entails no encounter with toxic fumes.
If next April’s imposition of road tax on EVs raises revenue for climate policy - more cycling lanes, better provision of electric chargers - rather than being devoted to military combat in the Middle East, EV supporters may accept the latest withdrawal of an exemption incentive.
Before responding to questions about the U.K’s response to climate change, take a close look at what our former partners in Europe such as Norway are doing.
POSTSCRIPT: A plea from car industry bosses in BMW, Ford and Land Rover to the U.K. Government reported in the Guardian (4 Oct 2024) appeals for subsidies to help the industry comply with its zero-emission vehicle mandate (8).
© Michael McSorley 2024
References
1. 30 September 2023 https://michaelmcsorleynature.blogspot.com/2023/09/electric-cars-and-climate-change.html
2. The Guardian 17 Sept 2024 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/17/norway-electric-cars-outnumber-petrol-for-first-time-in-historic-milestone
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vehicle-tax-for-electric-and-low-emissions-vehicles
4. The Independent 25 September 2024 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/keir-starmer-middle-east-war-lebanon-un-b2618546.html
5. BBC News 25 September 2024 Europe’s deadly floods are glimpse of future climate https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5zx2zx5xvo
6. U.K. Department for Transport 19 Oct 2023 Transport & Environment Statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023
7. Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in NI 5 September 2024 https://datavis.nisra.gov.uk/Economy/electricity-consumption-and-renewable-generation-report.html
8. The Guardian Jasper Jolly 4 Oct 2024 Carmakers ramp up pressure on chancellor for EV sales subsidies https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/04/carmakers-ramp-up-pressure-on-chancellor-for-ev-sales-subsidies
