The push by the Chinese government and the country’s automakers to expand production of electric vehicles is actually worsening air pollution and carbon emissions because most of China’s electricity is still produced by coal-fired power plants, new studies show. Thanks to government incentives, production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is expected to grow six-fold to two million cars and trucks by 2020. But studies by researchers at Tsinghua University show that electric vehicles charged in China with coal-fired power produce two to five times as many particulates and other pollutants as gasoline cars. The Tsinghua studies call into question the government policy of promoting deployment of electric vehicles while the vast majority of the country’s electricity still comes from coal. “International experience shows that cleaning up the air doesn’t need to rely on electric vehicles,” said one analyst. “Clean up the power plants.”
Rush to Electric Vehicles Is Worsening Air Pollution in China
More From E360
-
Climate
Can Toxic Mining Waste Help Remove CO2 from the Atmosphere?
-
INTERVIEW
Saving U.S. Climate and Environmental Data Before It Goes Away
-
Biodiversity
A Craze for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa
-
INTERVIEW
Bill McKibben on Climate Activism in the Age of Trump 2.0
-
Climate
How Climate Change Puts the Safety of Drinking Water at Risk
-
Energy
‘Green Grab’: Solar and Wind Boom Sparks Conflicts on Land Use
-
INTERVIEW
Reciprocity: Rethinking Our Relationship with the Natural World
-
Oceans
With Sea Ice Melting, Killer Whales Are Moving Into the Arctic
-
WAR IN GAZA
As War Halts, the Environmental Devastation in Gaza Runs Deep
-
RIVERS
How Tearing Down Small Dams Is Helping Restore Northeast Rivers
-
Food & Agriculture
Turning Farmland Back to Peatland: Can It Slow CO2 Emissions?
-
Climate
In Vermont, a Push to Prevent Flooding or Get Out of the Way