There are 19 countries where EVs would do more harm than good, study points out

fleet-of-electric-vehicles-plugged-in-xlarge

A kind reminder that electric vehicles are just part of the solution

There is enough evidence proving that electric vehicles are better means of transportation, both in terms of performance and environmental protection. However, there are some countries where EVs wouldn’t do any good protecting the environment.

Although electric vehicles emit zero carbon dioxide emissions while running, charging them requires electricity, which is obtained, in most cases, by burning fossil fuel.

As insideevs.com reports — citing the Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) — there are some states that strongly rely on this method in order to produce electricity. So while in 122 of 141 countries the EVs are cleaner (compared to the combustion-powered ones) regarding greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG), in 19 states the rising of the electric vehicles would actually harm the environment.

The study doesn’t nominate these 19 countries but rather tries to point out that the battery-electric vehicles (BEV) are a partial solution for protecting the environment — the core problem is the way the electricity is produced.

Albania is, however, mentioned as one of the best examples — it generates 100% of its electricity from hydroelectric power. So the mpg equivalent of the GHG emissions is of 5,100 (or 0.05 l/100 km). At the opposite end sit Bostwana and Gibraltar (which generate 100% of their electricity from coal and oil), each with a 29.0 mpg (8.1 l/100 km) equivalent in greenhouse-gas emissions.

At 55.4 mpgghg (4.2 l/100 km) the US is close to achieving EPA’s current GHG regulations for 2025. China’s BEV environmental efficiency is at 40.0 mpgghg (5.9 l/100 km). They’re both above the world’s average of 51.5 mpgghg (4.6 l/100 km).