The Impact of Electric Vehicles on the Environment

Anton Vorina – Celje School of Economics, Higher Vocational College, Mariborska 2, 3000 Celje, Slovenia

Klementina Klepej – Celje School of Economics, Higher Vocational College, Mariborska 2, 3000 Celje, Slovenia

 Abstract: The article examines the environmental implications of electric vehicles, focusing on their impact on air, soil, water, climate change, and carbon footprint. The analysis draws on sources published after 2020.

The primary goal of the research is to evaluate the positive and negative en­vironmental effects of electric vehicles.

While electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions, a broader perspec­tive reveals a more complex picture. The manufacturing process for elec­tric vehicles can generate up to 70% higher emissions than that of gasoline vehicles.

Despite this, sales of electric vehicles have surged in recent years. Global sales increased by 49% to 6.2 million units in the first half of 2023, represent­ing approximately 16% of the global light vehicle market.

Electric vehicles reduce air pollution compared to traditional vehicles but do not entirely eliminate the problem. Furthermore, the electricity power­ing electric vehicles often comes from power plants, contributing to soil and water pollution.

To achieve a more significant climate benefit, electric vehicles generally need to be driven over 90,000 kilometers before surpassing the environmen­tal impact of internal combustion engine vehicles.

8th International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2024 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Rome, Italy, March 21, 2024, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS, published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-83-7, ISSN 2683-4510, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.2024

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission. 

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