The Electric Vehicle Supply Chain Has a Dirty Secret
Amid all the hype around clean transport, many believers have overlooked a key issue: Manufacturing these cars is a carbon-intensive process.
It all goes in.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergAs the world focuses on the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, the dawn of the electric vehicle era is sure to be touted as a major solution to a severe emissions problem. What few policy makers and business leaders seem to acknowledge, though, is just how dirty a process making these cars has become.
The transport sector is responsible for almost a quarter of direct carbon-dioxide emissions from burning fuel. Of that, passenger cars account for 45%. The challenge goes beyond what comes out of the tailpipe: Every step of making a vehicle’s 20,000 to 30,000 parts, which involves several thousands tons of aluminum, steel and other materials, produces emissions.