Asked by: Kate Dennis, Durham
Electric vehicles’ engines don’t churn out polluting fumes, making them the obvious choice for improving local air quality in towns and cities.
But although they have the potential to drastically cut pollution, they are only as green as the electricity they run on. Given that most electricity globally is still produced by burning fossil fuels, charging an electric car can indirectly generate similar amounts of greenhouse gases to a petrol-powered vehicle, particularly in countries that rely heavily on coal power.
As the world embraces renewable energy, electric cars will increasingly gain the upper hand in years to come.
Read more:
- Could dynamos be installed in electric cars to provide a perpetual source of power?
- If every petrol or diesel car in the UK was replaced with an electric car, how many charging points would we need?
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