Don’t get me wrong. I know the vehicle itself will have way lower emissions and than a regular gas or diesel vehicle, but what I’m confused on is that they will have to mine to get the raw materials to make these batteries and then once the battery is done it’s lifespan they will need to find a way to dispose or recycle these batteries. Imagine doing that capacity when the whole world has transitioned to EV.
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I can’t speak for the environmental/carbon cost of raw materials but I can speak for the direct emissions of the vehicle. The largest environmental cost of a vehicle over its average lifespan by far is the fuel that it burns causing climate change. EV’s carbon footprint when running of fossil fuel produced electricity is still approximately 80MPG compared to normal cars which usually get about 50mpg. So off the bat it’s 60% more efficient. Then if you charge it using green energy almost all of the harmful emissions cut out of the equation.
What you’re referring to with recycling batteries etc also isn’t really a climate change problem but rather an environmental hazard problem. So they both cause environmental harm but in different ways. You’re right in that it’s unlikely that the whole world could transitions to EV’s right now as lithium is in short supply. But technology is evolving quickly. And without huge investment we won’t find the answers we are looking for. So a large EV market is a good thing for both technological development and cutting emissions in the short term. Electronic cars have had little innovation for the last hundred years of their existence but now that the market has tipped in the last couple of decades the progress has been rapid. The same goes for green energy solutions. So this boom in EV’s is definitely a good thing for the environment.
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