Are Electric Vehicles Really Better for the Environment? Yes.

1. EVs are much better for the climate than gas-powered cars.

It’s not even close. Over its lifetime, the average new electric vehicle produces about half the greenhouse gas emissions of an equivalent vehicle burning gasoline or diesel. This calculation from the Union of Concerned Scientists compares total emissions from gas and electric vehicles:

Even if you plugged your EV into the dirtiest power grid in America, your vehicle would still produce less global warming pollution than its gas-powered equivalent.

The average and dirtiest grids take the median from a collection of regional grids in the United States. Source: Union of Concerned Scientists. (Casey Chin / Earthjustice)

There are a few reasons why EVs come out so far ahead. Electric motors use energy far more efficiently than their internal combustion…