Air pollution is a major environmental issue in cities around the world.

In October 2016,
the firecrackers and fireworks lit for the Hindu festival of Diwali triggered toxic smog in
Delhi, which left the city’s air pollution levels 42 times higher than the safe limit. In
December 2016, Beijing was enveloped in smog for six days, forcing authorities
to declare the highest level smog alert of 2016. In June 2017, Parisian Clotilde
Nonnez filed a lawsuit against the French state—she alleged that the French
government’s inaction on Paris’ severe air pollution led to her serious health problems.
A major cause of air pollution in the city is the high number of traditional motor
vehicles. Such vehicles run on diesel or gasoline. As a result, they emit substances such
as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulate matter. It is these
substances that cause air pollution. Air pollution then leads to health problems
like asthma, lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and death.
A growing number of governments are addressing air pollution by promoting the use of
electric vehicles. Unlike traditional motor vehicles, electric vehicles do not run on diesel
or gasoline. Electric vehicles therefore do not emit air pollutants. Furthermore, electric
vehicles are very economical—they help motorists reduce fuel consumption.
India
In 2017, the Indian government announced that only electric cars will be sold in India by
2030. “The idea is that by 2030, not a single petrol or diesel car should be sold in the
country,” India’s power minister Piyush Goyal declared in April 2017. Nagpur helps the
Indian government fulfill its vow by being the first Indian city to have an electric public
transport system. This facility – a collaboration between taxi aggregator Ola, carmaker
Mahindra, and the Indian government – started in May 2017.
The facility is composed of 200 electric vehicles, including autos, taxis, buses, and even
e-rickshaws. Furthermore, Ola installed 50 charging points in four key areas in Nagpur.
The Indian government believes that the facility is key to reducing India’s reliance on
fossil fuel, as well as to bringing reliable transportation to the people. “It is heartening
to see Indian companies such as Ola and Mahindra taking the government's vision
forward and in building a strong ecosystem for sustainable mobility. I look forward to
working with them to make the 2030 vision of reducing carbon emission a reality,”
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Why electric cars may not reduce pollution

Driving electric cars and scrapping your natural gas-fired boiler won’t make a dent in global carbon emissions, and
may even increase pollution levels.

Higher electrification may lead to oil demand peaking by 2030, but any reduction in emissions from the likes of
electric vehicles will be offset by the increased use of power plants to charge them, according to the International
Energy Agency’s annual World Energy Outlook, which plots different scenarios of future energy use.
In order to significantly reduce harmful pollution by 2040, electrification will have to form part of a comprehensive
package of policies to reduce power sector carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, the Paris-based body
that advises nations on energy policy said.

The clamor for global action to dramatically cut emissions has reached fever pitch in recent months following the
publication of a United Nations report that called for annual investment of $2.4 trillion in clean ener ..

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Pollutionwatch
Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars
Electric cars are not the solution
If we really want to tackle particle pollution we need carbon-free electricity
and, even better, walk or cycle over short distances

Gary Fuller

 @drgaryfuller
Sun 13 Aug 2017 21.30 BSTLast modified on Wed 14 Feb
2018 16.33 GMT

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 A VW e-Golf electric car being charged in Dresden, Germany. Electric cars

move pollution from our cities to distant power plants. Photograph: Fabrizio
Bensch/Reuters

Will our streets be pollution free when the last petrol and diesel cars are sold
in the UK in just over two decades time? Sadly not. This is for two main
reasons. First, we will still have diesel lorries and buses. Second, electric cars
still release particle pollution into the air from wearing tyres, brakes and road
surfaces. Already more particle pollution comes from wear than from the
exhausts of modern vehicles.
The polluting effect of wear and tear in brakes and
tyres
 
Read more

The trend towards open disc brakes rather than sealed drums looks to be
making the situation worse and toxicologists say that these particles are not
harmless. Despite regenerative braking, where electric motors are put into
reverse to slow the car, one study found that the extra weight of the batteries
means more particle pollution compared with the petrol or diesel vehicles that
we buy today.

Electric cars move pollution from our cities to distant power plants. For big
benefits we need carbon-free electricity. Most studies focus on average driving
and average electricity generation. Instead, if we consider real urban driving
and off-peak charging, electric cars are already a low pollution option
for Belgium, where over half of electricity comes from nuclear power, and
for Beijing, where more efficient gas-fired power stations are rapidly replacing
old coal ones.

A quarter of England’s car trips are less than two miles. We can be more
ambitious. Replacing petrol and diesel cars with electric would miss the
opportunity to save the NHS around £17 billion over the next 20 years by
swapping short car journeys for walking or cycling.

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