Activities per year
Abstract
This article addresses issues of climate and environmental injustice through the lens of electric vehicle (EV) usage. The current market for batteries relies very heavily on Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries, as they provide ‘high efficiency and low cost’. In 2020, BloombergNEF forecast that by 2040, 58% of global passenger vehicles sales would be EVs, with demand for batteries rising commensurately. Between 2010 and 2021, average unit price for EV batteries fell from $1,200 to $132 per kW/h.
This article considers the environmental impacts of EVs and assesses the extent to which impacts on local communities are reflected accurately in calculations of the benefits of EV technology. It concludes that whilst the carbon emissions and impact on climate of using EVs is significantly lower than for using petrol or diesel vehicles, the current cost of the technology simply does not reflect the disproportionate impact on the populations living near the extraction sites for the minerals needed in EV batteries.
This article considers the environmental impacts of EVs and assesses the extent to which impacts on local communities are reflected accurately in calculations of the benefits of EV technology. It concludes that whilst the carbon emissions and impact on climate of using EVs is significantly lower than for using petrol or diesel vehicles, the current cost of the technology simply does not reflect the disproportionate impact on the populations living near the extraction sites for the minerals needed in EV batteries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 169-193 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Journal of Human Rights and the Environment |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
© Sneddon 2023. The definitive, peer reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 14(2), 169–193, 2023Keywords
- Environmental Justice
- Climate Justice
- Electric Vehicles
- Batteries
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Gift Wrapping the Future as a present to the present
Sneddon, S. (Author)
30 May 2023 → 31 May 2023Activity: Academic Talks or Presentations › Conference Presentation › Research
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All that glisters is not Green. Electric transport and environmental injustice
Sneddon, S. (Author)
18 Mar 2022Activity: Academic Talks or Presentations › Conference Presentation › Research
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Paradise Lost? The red right hand of green technology
Sneddon, S. (Author)
9 Feb 2022Activity: Academic Talks or Presentations › Seminar/Workshop › Research
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Li-Ions in the DRC: Battery Technology and Environmental Justice
Sneddon, S. (Author)
21 Jun 2022Activity: Academic Talks or Presentations › Conference Presentation › Research
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