Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicles | Why Do You Study That?

My name is Felix Tintelnot and I study

I'm not here to tell you whether to purchase an electric vehicle or not.

I'm an economist and became interested in studying electric vehicles

because they are seen as a means to fight climate change.

and also became a centerpiece

of global industrial policy debate.

<One thing that our studies found was how green a vehicle is

differs dramatically across car categories.

So, not every electric vehicle is greener than a gasoline vehicle.<

In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act,

which some people have called the largest climate bill in U.S.

history.

Consumers receive an electric vehicle tax credit

if they buy an electric vehicle that has been made in North America.

Concerns have been raised regarding the uniformity of the subsidies

since not all electric vehicles provide the same benefits society.

Electric vehicles, on average, produce fewer emissions than gas-powered ones.

But a potential downside of electric vehicles

is that they tend to be a lot heavier

because they contain a large battery.

Larger and heavier electric vehicles consume more electricity.

If the vehicle, is heavier, need more energy to move it around,

which comes with, greater pollution and the process of producing the electricity.

To produce the electricity, sometimes, coal or gas are burned.

Another component of this is that research has shown that the fatality

risk for others in a collision increases dramatically with vehicle weight.

So not every electric vehicle is truly greener and better for society.