cancel2 2022
Canceled
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Bjorn Lomborg is a real hero of mine, straight talking without any flowery bullshit so beloved by the eco-loonys. Naturally he is detested by them as truth is a rare commodity in Progland.
Climate activists and politicians constantly tell us electric cars are cleaner, cheaper, and better. Germany, the U.K., and Japan, among other countries, will even prohibit the sale of new gas and diesel cars within a decade or two.
But if electric cars are really so good, why do we need to ban the alternatives? And subsidize electrics to the tune of $30 billion per year?
The reality is far more muddled than the boosters of electric cars would have you believe. Carbon emissions from an electric car depend on whether it is recharged with clean or coal power.
Moreover, battery manufacturing requires lots of energy, which today is mostly produced with coal in China. That is why the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that an electric car using the global average mix of power sources over its lifetime will still emit about half as much CO2 as a gas car.
You can buy that same carbon emission reduction on America’s longest-established carbon trading system for about $300. Yet many countries pay more than 20 times that in subsidies to convince people to make the switch.
The engine of an electric car doesn’t produce air pollution but it does need electricity, which can end up polluting more.
One new study found that in two-thirds of American states, electric cars cause more of the most dangerous particulate air pollution than gasoline-powered cars.
In China, an extra electric car produces slightly less pollution than a gas car if driven in areas with new, cleaner power plants but slightly more in regions with older power plants.
Electric vehicles’ batteries make them much heavier than comparable gas-powered cars. This weight difference alone means electric cars produce more particulate matter emissions from the greater tire, road, and brake wear than gasoline cars do.
Heavy electric cars are also more dangerous for others in accidents. A study in Nature showed that in total, heavier electric cars will cause so many more deaths that the toll could outweigh the total climate benefits from reduced CO2 emissions. Demand for longer-range and bigger batteries will only make this problem worse.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/bjorn-lomborg-the-muddled-reality-of-electric-cars
Bjorn Lomborg is a real hero of mine, straight talking without any flowery bullshit so beloved by the eco-loonys. Naturally he is detested by them as truth is a rare commodity in Progland.
Climate activists and politicians constantly tell us electric cars are cleaner, cheaper, and better. Germany, the U.K., and Japan, among other countries, will even prohibit the sale of new gas and diesel cars within a decade or two.
But if electric cars are really so good, why do we need to ban the alternatives? And subsidize electrics to the tune of $30 billion per year?
The reality is far more muddled than the boosters of electric cars would have you believe. Carbon emissions from an electric car depend on whether it is recharged with clean or coal power.
Moreover, battery manufacturing requires lots of energy, which today is mostly produced with coal in China. That is why the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that an electric car using the global average mix of power sources over its lifetime will still emit about half as much CO2 as a gas car.
You can buy that same carbon emission reduction on America’s longest-established carbon trading system for about $300. Yet many countries pay more than 20 times that in subsidies to convince people to make the switch.
The engine of an electric car doesn’t produce air pollution but it does need electricity, which can end up polluting more.
One new study found that in two-thirds of American states, electric cars cause more of the most dangerous particulate air pollution than gasoline-powered cars.
In China, an extra electric car produces slightly less pollution than a gas car if driven in areas with new, cleaner power plants but slightly more in regions with older power plants.
Electric vehicles’ batteries make them much heavier than comparable gas-powered cars. This weight difference alone means electric cars produce more particulate matter emissions from the greater tire, road, and brake wear than gasoline cars do.
Heavy electric cars are also more dangerous for others in accidents. A study in Nature showed that in total, heavier electric cars will cause so many more deaths that the toll could outweigh the total climate benefits from reduced CO2 emissions. Demand for longer-range and bigger batteries will only make this problem worse.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/bjorn-lomborg-the-muddled-reality-of-electric-cars
