In recent years we’ve seen a real shift towards electric cars as more and more of us try to do our bit to fight climate change. Governments are encouraging us to switch to electric vehicles and the UK will be banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

But are electric cars better for the environment? In this blog post, we’ll be looking into whether that’s actually true and what the environmental impact of electric cars is.

Why are electric cars better for the environment?

So, are electric cars greener than those powered by internal combustion engines? The main reason that they are is that they emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants because they don’t have a tailpipe spewing out carbon dioxide emissions while the car is running.

This is better for the environment and for air quality in towns and cities, which is why the switch to electric cars is such a big part of strategies at local, national and international levels to move towards Net Zero targets.

How are electric cars better for the environment?

We’ve seen how they can be better for air quality, but do electric cars pollute the environment too? The simple answer is that yes, they do because they are powered by batteries that are charged up through the energy grid, much of which is generated by fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, producing batteries for electric cars is a very energy-intensive process and studies have warned that this combined with the production of electricity for running them adds up to high levels of carbon emissions - around 59% higher than for the production of internal combustion engine vehicles.

However, over the lifespan of a car, experts generally agree that its lower emissions while driving mean that an electric car will be better for the planet.

How much better are electric cars for the environment?

How green are electric cars? Research has shown that one electric car on the roads can save on average 1.5 million grams of CO2, which is the equivalent of four return flights from the UK to Spain, so just imagine the impact if we all switched to electric cars.

Why electric cars are better for the environment

As we’ve seen, there is still some debate about just how green electric cars really are, but most people agree that making the switch away from internal combustion engines is a good thing for the planet.

Are electric cars greener than gas? Certainly, driving an electric car is greener than driving one that emits carbon dioxide because it runs on petrol - or gas as it’s called in the USA - or diesel and that’s behind the push to encourage us all to change our driving habits.

There’s still more that can be done to make the production of batteries a greener process as well as the need to use more renewable energy to deliver the electricity to charge our cars, but hopefully, that’s a road we’re all driving down together to a better future for the environment.

If you’ve recently made the switch to an EV, car insurance will be on your list of priorities when it comes to staying safe on the roads. Get a quote with us today.