The long-held assumption that fossil fuel vehicles are inherently “dirty” and electric vehicles (EVs) are the “clean” solution is facing increasing scrutiny as new information about their environmental impacts comes to light.
The real picture of manufacturing batteries shatters the “clean” and “green” image of EVs. The raw materials used in EV batteries are available in certain countries where there are questions about environmental regulations and labour rights.
According to a United Nations report, the Democratic Republic of Congo supplies two-thirds of the global output of cobalt – the essential mineral for battery production. The artisanal mines from where the mineral is collected have been found to be hazardous and employ child labour.

With the purchase of nearly one-third of the fleet of EVs, Tesla is the top EV supplier in the world. The American multinational automotive company has signed a deal with Swiss-based Glencore Plc to buy as much as 6,000 tonnes of cobalt annually which would be collected from the Congolese mines.

While explaining the environmental impact of EVs based on his research, Cambridge University Emeritus Professor of Engineering Michael Kelly, also a former Prince Philip Professor of Technology at the university, pointed out that if all the vehicles in the world were EVs, double or triple production of cobalt, lithium carbonate, neodymium and copper will be required globally.

These materials are mined in very few countries and the true environmental and social impact of mining for these materials can only be understood when these would be mined, transported and processed on a vast scale, especially in the countries afflicted with corruption and poor human rights records.
Big corporations or EV producers along with the climate crusaders have been trumpeting the drum of environment-friendly EVs but are yet to address the social, environmental and rights issues of cobalt production in third world countries.

As per the climate change narrative, carbon dioxide emissions are threatening environmental catastrophes on a global scale and for the sake of saving the world, the use of EVs needs to be increased as it would help reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

However, the supposed advantages of EVs in emitting lower carbon emissions have been proved overstated in several recent studies. About half the lifetime carbon dioxide emissions from an electric car come from the energy used to produce the car, especially in the mining and processing of raw materials needed for the battery.

Researchers say that this compares unfavourably with the manufacture of a gasoline-powered car which accounts for 17% of the car’s lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions. When a new EV appears in the showroom, it has already caused 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emission. The equivalent amount for manufacturing a conventional car is 14,000 pounds.
While operating on the road, the carbon dioxide emissions of EVs depend on the power-generation fuel used to recharge its battery. If it comes mostly from coal-fired power plants, it will lead to about 15 ounces of carbon dioxide for every mile it is driven – three ounces more than a similar gasoline-powered car.
If an EV is driven 50,000 miles over its lifetime through using electricity from any source, the huge initial emissions from its manufacture put more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than a similar-size gasoline-powered car driven the same number of miles. Even if the EV is driven for 90,000 miles and the battery is charged by cleaner natural-gas fuelled power stations, it will cause only 24% less carbon dioxide emission than a gasoline-powered car.Danish author and Copenhagen Consensus Centre President Bjorn Lomborg has rightly pointed out that this is a far cry from “zero emissions”.