Continuing our series of blog posts examining some of the thorny issues related to climate and investing in a green transition, this month we look at the complexities surrounding electric cars. You can also check our previous post, ‘What Exactly Do We Mean by Climate Solutions?’
Operation Noah recently responded to a UK Government Consultation on the phasing out of new petrol and diesel cars sales from 2030 and the Zero Emission Transition. While we supported a move away from petrol vehicles to electric or hybrid alternatives, we also sounded several notes of caution in our submission.
While we recognise that cars are a key part of our transportation network, we also believe the government needs to rapidly scale up investment in clean and affordable public transportation – alongside funding walking and cycling infrastructure – to avoid putting more cars on the road and even to avoid simply replacing every existing petrol vehicle with an electric vehicle. The total number of licensed vehicles in the UK has increased in all but two years since the end of the Second World War, and continuing to put more vehicles on UK roads is unsustainable.
What About Hybrids?
Our view is that only new plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars should be allowed for sale after 2030. While the original hybrid vehicles were a useful technological advance 25 years ago, they are outdated today, with the emissions reductions compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles being relatively small. This older hybrid technology isn’t enough to hit the UK government target of 81% carbon reductions by 2035, as set out in the 6th carbon budget.
Cars with the older hybrid technology can only go very short distances at slow speeds without using the engine, and – as they cannot plug in – each mile is ultimately powered by fossil fuels. By 2030, falling battery costs and the UK government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate will make electric cars cheaper – or at least as affordable – as ICE cars in nearly every instance.
Mining Concern
We recognise that while they are infinitely cleaner to operate, electric vehicles are not without their own emissions and mineral extraction concerns. In 2020, 7 million tons of minerals (‘transition minerals’) were mined globally for low-carbon energy, including for electric cars, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). To limit global heating to 2C warming, it is projected that extraction will need to increase to about 28 million tons per year.
While that may sound like a staggeringly large number, it is dramatically less overall extraction than a fossil fuel-based economy requires. For example, every year about 15 billion tons of fossil fuels are mined and extracted, which is nearly 535 times more mining than a clean energy economy is expected to require in 2040.
Part of the reason for this massive difference is that clean energy technology is much more efficient than technology that runs on fossil fuels, with electric vehicles three times more efficient than petrol-powered vehicles. It is nevertheless important that mining for transition minerals be done in an environmentally and socially responsible way, ensuring protections for workers as well as having effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in place.
Is Recycling Minerals the Answer?
Many extractive industries are based in countries with dubious human rights records, and stories from Russia and the DRC highlight the social, environmental and health risks of unregulated mining. That said, recycling these precious minerals could be one way of reducing demand. One university in Australia estimates that recycling could meet up to half the demand for some transition minerals by 2040, however, this possible solution still needs investment and infrastructure. The good news is that governments are beginning to recognise the importance of recycling precious elements but not quickly enough to keep up with demand. Our consultation response stressed the need for the UK government to develop and implement policies that support the recycling of material in EV batteries so as to reduce the need for new materials.
How Can Faith Groups Invest in Climate Solutions?
Electric cars are one of many climate solutions that are needed to combat the climate crisis. Investment in these solutions needs to be rapidly and ambitiously scaled up in order to bring about a greener, safer future for all. Find out more about how your church or institution can play a role in funding a liveable future by signing our Green Investment Declaration.
