Source:
- "Producing a battery for an EV requires many mined materials, including lithium, cobalt, and rare earths, most of which are mined and processed in nations like China, Congo, and Chile, where environmental standards are weaker than in the United States.
- An EV battery requires more energy to manufacture than a battery for a conventional vehicle and results in more carbon emissions during the manufacturing stage. This so-called carbon debt is incurred by each EV before it is even driven its first mile and may take years to repay.
- If coal-fired electricity were to continue to be a significant part of the generation mix, then the emissions reductions from the transition to EVs from conventional vehicles may be minor and possibly nonexistent.
- If millions of new EV batteries are to be made each year then millions of old ones will eventually have to be disposed of. Recycling EV batteries is far from easy and creates emissions and public health risks of its own."
- Policy makers should consider these and other environmental costs before
they take any steps towards locking the nation into a future of
electric vehicles as a major means of transportation."