A new report from the European Environment Agency states that battery electric cars emit less greenhouse gas and air pollutants over their entire life cycle than gasoline and diesel cars. Promotion of this technology, along with the shared use of vehicles and product design that supports reuse and recycling, is advocated to Source: European Environment Agency Source: European Environment Agency help maximize the benefits of shifting to electric vehicles.

Greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles in Europe, with the current EU energy mix and over the entire vehicle life cycle, are about 17% to 30% lower than the emissions of gasoline and diesel cars. As the carbon intensity of the EU energy mix is projected to decline, the life-cycle emissions of a typical electric vehicle could be cut by at least 73% by 2050.

Electric vehicles generate zero exhaust emissions at street level, but also emit particulate matter from road, tire and brake wear. The analysis is less favorable for electric cars when considering current impacts of their production on ecosystems and the toxicity of the materials involved. These impacts, mostly due to the extraction and processing of copper, nickel and critical raw materials, could be minimized through a circular economy approach that facilitates reuse and recycling, especially of batteries.

Preliminary data show that average carbon dioxide emissions of new passenger cars in the EU increased by 0.4% in 2017, the first time the average emissions increased since monitoring started in 2010. Average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new light commercial vehicles continued to fall in 2017, showing the largest annual decrease (7.7 g CO2/km) since 2012.

Registrations of battery electric vehicles increased by 51% in 2017, comprising 0.6% of all new registrations in the EU. Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased by 35%, comprising 0.8% of new registrations.

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