The benefits of road-user charging are now well established. And including electric vehicles doesn’t have to be a deterrent to their uptake, as New Zealand and other nations have shown.
Electric vehicles would lower emissions, but if their lower running costs lead to increased car use that creates a whole lot of other costs for our cities.
Zheng Chen, University of California, San Diego and Darren H. S. Tan, University of California, San Diego
Batteries power much of modern life, from electric and hybrid cars to computers, medical devices and cellphones. But unless they’re made easier and cheaper to recycle, a battery waste crisis looms.
Life cycle assessments of electric vehicles show that they cannot fully eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions of personal travel. We also need bikes, buses and trains to solve our climate problems.
Electric vehicles can have a positive impact on the climate and air pollution levels, but governments should rethink how they electrify the transportation network.
South Africa’s well positioned to adopt electric vehicles but this isn’t a solution in itself because the vehicles would still depend on electricity generated from carbon-emitting coal power stations.
Electric vehicles are still relatively expensive but a trial to help them power the national grid in times of need could see owners being paid. That could make them a lot more attractive.