Electric cars in Germany are emitting more CO2 than diesel vehicles, according to a German study.

By including the CO2 emissions from the production of batteries, the study by the Ifo Institute in Munich found that electric vehicles attribute 11% to 28% more CO2 than their diesel counterparts.

“Mining and processing the lithium, cobalt and manganese used for batteries consume a great deal of energy,” reported the Brussels Times. “A Tesla Model 3 battery, for example, represents between 11 and 15 tonnes of CO2.”

“Given a lifetime of 10 years and an annual travel distance of 15,000 kilometres, this translates into 73 to 98 grams of CO2 per kilometre, scientists Christoph Buchal, Hans-Dieter Karl and Hans-Werner Sinn noted in their study.”

Additionally, the study pointed out that it’s not just the production phase; charging the batteries of electric cars also produces more CO2 due to the increased production of energy required for charging.

That led to the study’s authors criticizing EU regulations that claim fleet emissions for electric vehicles start out at “zero” CO2.

The authors believe that methane-powered gasoline engines are worth looking into instead.



What can we learn from the ancient Greeks that we can apply today?

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