The transport sector is undeniably one of the largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Do you own an electric vehicle? Would you like to own one? Will you continue to use a traditional, gas-powered vehicle? Or do you choose public transit, walking, or cycling? Answer our survey and tell us your thoughts on the switch to electric.
In Canada, domestic transport-related greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 15 percent over the past decade. In fact, in 2018, the road transportation sector emitted 156 megatonnes of CO2, comprising 84 percent of the country’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Alarmingly, Health Canada estimates that air pollution contributes to 15,300 premature deaths every year.
The negative effects of fossil-fueled cars on both the environment and our health are astronomical. In order to address the pressing issue of climate change and the increased risk of premature mortality, we feel an urgent need to abolish gas-guzzling machines in favour of electric vehicles. Not only do the latter provide significant emission benefits over conventional ones, but they are certainly a feasible endeavor within the capacity of our national energy grid.
With increasing battery lives, reduced costs, and increased efficiency, electric vehicles may very well be an achievable solution. Consider the rechargeable batteries that power our smartphones and laptops. In a similar manner, electric vehicles can be completely powered by electricity because they use motors generated by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, hybrid electric vehicles also rely on regenerative braking technologies, which will reduce fuel consumption by recapturing energy typically lost during braking. Electric vehicles will not only massively curtail exhaust emissions, but they will also allow for a significant reduction in upstream emissions. Without a need for extracting oil, refining it into fuel, and transporting it to gas stations, in over a year, just one electric car can save an average of 1.5 million grams of CO2.
Although skeptics have proposed that the process of manufacturing batteries contributes to emissions upfront, this stage can be sustainable if done responsibly. Currently, manufacturers such as Tesla are setting new guidelines, requiring the use of renewable energy sources during production such as solar and wind.
Batteries are known to be an expensive component of electric vehicles. However, U.S. data from the Department of Energy declared that the cost of batteries fell by more than half between 2012 and 2016, a reassuring trend. Current batteries are designed for an extended life of eight to 10 years with predictive modelling suggesting a lifespan of up to 12 to 15 years. While the cost of battery replacement is variable — ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 based on a variety of factors, including size of vehicle and materials used — many manufacturers are currently offering extended warranties.
The energy grid is promising in regards to accommodating electric vehicles. According to Natural Resources Canada, there are 6566 charging stations across the country, including 1203 DC fast charging stations, which provide 95 to 130 kilometers of range per 20 minutes of charging time. The Liberal government has further committed, by adding 50,000 new electric vehicle chargers and hydrogen stations to Canada’s network.
Given the environmental advantages, we are accelerating into a new world of electric vehicles — a promising solution to rising emissions.
Of course electric cars are better, just as you discussed here. But car makers need to offer the same vehicles they sell now, but powered by battery. And at the same price, with ranges of 700+ kms. per charge. Right now, car makers are only offering selected prototypes in electric version, and it is a mass marketing red herring. Oil and gas producers also need to get serious about switching to becoming renewable energy corporations. Governments need to kick these corporations to take climate change seriously, and to stop resisting environmentalism just for profits. And we voters need to kick the politicians we elect to force new energy measures all around.
Part of the solution, but global population growth is eating up the gains, e.g., article below.
EV’s are not a Universal Solution to Climate Change
Scott Barlow, Globe&Mail, 28NON22
The most jarring statistic of this past week came from Morgan Stanley energy analyst Martijn Rats, who noted that while 72 per cent of new cars in Norway are electric vehicles, oil consumption in the country hasn’t changed.
This data point underscores the extent to which electric vehicles are not a panacea for climate change, and also the scale of the challenge that decarbonization presents for the global economy.
Increased market penetration for electric vehicles is a necessary but not sufficient condition to address climate change. In Norway’s case, basic GDP growth and population increases raised oil demand more than electric vehicles reduced it. Globally, the combined effects of economic growth, and rising standards of living in the developing world, have fully offset the benefits of limiting internal combustion engines.
Mr. Rats reports that the global population increases by one billion people, and global per capita GDP growth climbs roughly 35 per cent, every 14 years. Both trends drastically increase energy demand.
Longevity and standards of living have huge effects on energy demand. Morgan Stanley presented a chart showing numerous countries by both standard of living, as measured by the United Nations human development index, or HDI, and energy usage.
The HDI is composed of numerous indicators including rural access to electricity, poverty rates, income inequality and internet access. Mr. Rats’ chart clearly shows that as a country’s HDI rises, so does the per capita energy consumption.
China, for example, has an HDI of roughly 0.75 (the scale goes from 0-1.0) and consumes about 90 gigajoules per capita annually. The United States, with an HDI of 0.93, uses roughly 275 gigajoules per capita per year.
Developing nations seek both economic growth, which raises energy demand and citizen standards of living. The latter increases the energy intensity – the amount of energy used per person – of the economy.
Decarbonization of the global economy is a tall, tall order. Renewable power will have to triple and quadruple from its current 16 per cent of the total to replace coal, oil and natural gas. Electric vehicles are part of the solution, but a much smaller one than many believe.
The scale of electrification will substantially increase the demand for strategic metals – copper, cobalt and lithium central among them – and related miners will be major beneficiaries.
Globe &Mail, 07DEC22
In a future of electric vehicles, Canada is driving on a low battery
Brian Kingston, President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.
The electric vehicle (EV) transformation is rapidly picking up speed, with automakers committing an estimated US$1.2-trillion to electrification through 2030 to build tens of millions of electric vehicles, more than double the amount from only one year ago. As more EVs come to market, countries around the world are rapidly building charging infrastructure and supporting citizens in the transition to electric.
But while other countries race ahead to an electrified future, Canada is driving on a low battery.
According to the EV Readiness Index, developed by global accounting firm Ernst & Young, Canada has fallen from eighth place in 2021 to 13th in 2022 of the world’s top 14 vehicle markets. The main reasons? A lack of ambition on charging infrastructure and consumer incentives.
The most recent assessment of charging needs suggests that for every 24 EVs on the road by 2030, Canada will need one public charger. Compare this with California, a jurisdiction Ottawa often co-operates with on climate policy, where the California Energy Commission estimates that every 12 EVs on the road will require one public charger by 2030.
With 1.1 million kilometres of public two-lane roads, a colder climate and 18 per cent of the population living in rural areas requiring longer drives, Canada will need more public charging infrastructure than California, not less.
Equally concerning is the rate of Canada’s charging infrastructure build-out. As of September, 2022, just 2,500 chargers were operational of the planned 84,500 government-funded chargers. At this pace of construction, government-funded chargers won’t be fully operational until well past 2050, decades after the federal government’s target of 100 per cent EV sales.
Further complicating the charging landscape is Canada’s antiquated approach to charging for electricity. Under current rules, charging companies can only bill customers for the time their vehicles are plugged into a charger. Not only does this create a confusing charging landscape for drivers, it also makes the charging station business model unviable.
With EV sales increasing steadily, a lack of charging infrastructure risks leaving drivers frustrated as more people seek out public chargers. Even when drivers can find chargers, they may be surprised to find them not working due to a lack of standards on charger uptime.
Powering this charging infrastructure is an electricity generation system that needs to grow at least twofold by 2050 to meet Canada’s climate targets. Electrifying a typical highway gas station will require as much power as a professional sports stadium. While forecasts vary on what this will cost, Royal Bank of Canada estimates an all-renewable electricity grid with battery storage could add $7-billion in annual costs, while one with a more diverse power mix would cost about $4billion.
Add to this the need for spending on EVs to grow from about $4billion a year to nearly $22-billion, and the disconnect between Canada’s EV ambitions and reality becomes apparent.
The final piece of the puzzle is ensuring that EVs are affordable for everyone. With a price gap of $20,000 between a gas-powered compact SUV and a more expensive electric one (in the most popular vehicle segment in Canada), a federal consumer purchase incentive of $5,000 guarantees that middle- and lower-income Canadians will not have the help needed to switch to electric. In fact, Canada falls outside the top 20 countries globally when it comes to helping consumers purchase EVs.
The combination of these challenges threatens to sink Canada’s EV ambitions well before the federal government unveils its new and unnecessary EV sales regulations. The result will be missed EV sales targets and frustrated Canadians.
The federal government must improve Canada’s EV readiness to support the consumer transition to electrification. By convening all the players with a role in the EV transition– provinces, municipalities, automakers, charging companies, utilities and infrastructure providers – solutions to these challenges can be developed, implemented and tied to Ottawa’s EV sales targets. Canada can win the race to electrify, but it will take a comprehensive national effort to improve EV readiness.