There really isn’t any question as to whether electric vehicles are better for the environment than traditional fuel vehicles. They have a much smaller environmental impact for a number of reasons, including fewer – if any – emissions and the fact that electricity is more sustainable than fossil fuels. The amount of air pollution is significantly reduced, which can make a huge difference in your community. Read on to learn more.
Government schemes
Electric vehicles are integral to several government schemes designed to safeguard the environment. Firstly, the government announced plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel sales by 2040. However, they have since brought this deadline forward to 2030. In addition to this, they have also announced their intention to reduce carbon emissions to zero by the year 2050.
Pushing electric vehicles plays a huge role in these plans. It is worth noting that these schemes do tend to be more geared towards the purchase as opposed to leasing an electric car. Although if leasing is more accessible to you, then ElectriX has an incredibly informative resource on this.
The affect of manufacturing the vehicles
Now, owning and operating an electric vehicle is undoubtedly better for the environment. However, surely the manufacturing process has an environmental impact which needs considering. Truthfully, the manufacturing process does use a lot of energy. However, this is offset by the lack of emissions made by the car throughout its lifetime, which still means that they are greener than traditional fuel vehicles.
Producing an electric vehicle does tend to produce more emissions than that of a conventional vehicle. This is simply because it takes more energy to manufacture the batteries that electric vehicles need. However, technology continues to advance, which could lead to more streamlined production processes. Finally, recycling batteries is a growing market which allows them to be reused.
The sustainability of electricity
Electricity, in and of itself, is far more sustainable than fossil fuels. However, this isn’t to say that producing electricity can’t also be harmful to the environment because it can be; it is simply less so. That being said, in recent years, a number of shifts have been made towards cleaner, renewable energy, which could change things.
Society has become more interested in harnessing the earth’s natural, renewable resources in order to create electricity. Solar, wind and waterpower are all beginning to be more widely adopted. When these cleaner energy sources are applied to the idea of an electric car, the environmental impact is further lessened.
To conclude
It is almost indisputable that electric vehicles are better for the environment than traditional vehicles. However, until they become more accessible to the masses, they will remain slightly out of reach. This is perhaps why the government plans to push them so hard in the coming years. As time goes on, they are likely to become more accessible in any case. As of now, there isn’t really much of a second-hand market for electric vehicles simply because they aren’t as well established; once this changes, they will be far more affordable for the average person.
