In recent months, there has been a slew of claims that electric vehicles' use of mineral mining causes more harm to the environment than traditional carbon-releasing cars. But is that true?
British right-wing politician Nigel Farage wrote of electric vehicles' "strain" on the environment that comes from mineral mining.
However, EV mythbusters, a series of articles put out by the Guardian, relies on a scientific foundation for weighing in on claims such as these. The claim that mineral mining is worse for the environment as it depletes more mineral resources than combustion-based cars was debunked by science.
The International Energy Agency estimated that electric cars use 381 pounds more of minerals such as lithium, nickel, and copper compared to internal combustion engine cars.
However, scientists found that the mineral use for electric cars in the long run is actually far lower than gasoline and diesel's mineral usage when accounting for oil needed for fuel-burning cars.
Experts also describe another important factor that most are missing when addressing mineral usage of electric cars: The majority of battery minerals used in cars are likely to be recycled. This will drastically reduce the wasted material, compared with dirty energy sources, which are used up and create planet-warming pollution in the process.
David Bott at the Society of Chemical Industry told the Guardian: "The real thing people forget is once it has been mined, you will end up being able to reuse 80-90% of the metals. You don't have to go back to the planet to steal more minerals."
In contrast, with gasoline and diesel, those resources must be constantly replenished and burned into the air we breathe and eventually the atmosphere, where they can contribute to trapping heat. That constant stream of carbon pollutants produced by gas-powered cars is taking a large toll on the environment. EVs are seen as a solution due to their expanding prevalence that is reducing air pollution throughout the world.
Skeptics of EVs, however, are quick to point out the damage that mineral mining has on the environment as a reason why EVs are not worth an investment.
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Cost 💰 Mark Dummett, the head of business and human rights at Amnesty International, spoke to the Guardian about the claims: "These problems have always existed in mining. I strongly believe that this problem has been exaggerated hugely by opponents of the energy transition, the fossil fuel lobby."
Other experts emphasize that the carbon alternative to EVs will not mean less mineral mining. Instead, it will mean mineral mining along with harmful carbon pollution.
As Caspar Rawles, the chief data officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told the Guardian, "It always makes me laugh. OK, the mining of EV [materials] is harmful. Where do you think your car now comes from?"
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