Electric cars 'may not cut CO2 emissions or oil dependency'
13-11-2009
A switch to electric cars may not necessarily reduce CO2 emissions or dependence on oil, a report for the Environmental Transport Association claims.
It was unlikely that electric vehicles would account for more than 25 per cent of new sales by 2050, it added.
There were significant potential environmental benefits to be had from a switch to electric vehicles, but these were entirely dependent on changes in the way that electricity was generated and energy was taxed.
Under the EU emissions trading system electric cars were likely to result in higher overall CO2 emissions, the report said.
www.timesonline.co.uk/
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You do not get energy for nothing,listening to greenpeace and climate change protesters is a way back to the stone age.
The only way to cut energy production is to cut the human race ??
Will someone in power please start LISTENING to the experts.
@Alastair Scott - pedal power is fine for fit individuals to commute, but not a viable solution for those with disabilities, not for taking the family on holiday. Personal powered transport is here to stay - we just need to use the right technologies.
Also don't forget that the production of the battery technology required has a carbon cost also. The greenest vehicle is the one parked in the garage.
With electric cars, energy is wasted at several stages. The charging process itself is particularly inefficient with a large amount of the energy being lost.
Energy is also lost from the batteries even when the car isn't in use, and that gets much worse as the battery gets older.
Add to that the enormous resource cost of producing the batteries themselves and replacing them every 5 years or so.
Furthermore, the UK hasn't the necessary power generation capacity to charge a whole nation of electric cars, even overnight. We'd need to build *dozens* of power stations to cope with a whole nation of electric cars.
Charging a large electric car battery will use more power than *anything* else we have in our homes. People don't seem to realise that.