Greenhouse gases emissions caused by road traffic account for around 32% of the total GHG produced in Switzerland, making it the largest block of climate emissions that the Swiss produce domestically. The National Council has just rejected a tightening of the CO2 law, but the EU is pushing the European automotive industry to action with new, drastic emissions regulations.
According to VW CEO Herbert Diess, electric vehicles "may be unaffordable for many customers". There are increasing voices questioning the alleged ecological superiority of electric cars. Their production harms the environment more than those with internal combustion engines. Manufacturing a medium range EV generates around 68% more emissions than a Natural Gas vehicle. And there is the underestimated environmental impact of disposing the batteries. The so called second, third and further lives of the batteries is still just an optimistic statement.
A small electric car offsets the emissions of production after 30,000 km, and a heavier one only after 100,000 km, according to a study commissioned by the Swedish Energy Agency this year. Nevertheless, the e-car is classified by the EU as a "zero-emission car". The expert Stefan Bratzel, a professor at the Auto-Institut CAM in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, finds it rather questionable - especially when electricity for the operation of the batteries comes partly from coal-fired power plants.
The ecological footprint of battery manufacturing too often does not flow into the bill. The extraction of the rare earths needed is problematic. And the disposal of millions of discarded batteries seems to be as vague as in the days when the first nuclear reactors were launched. On top of that, child slave labour in cobalt mining is still poorly addressed and eliminates any sustainability claim for these vehicles.
There is a sustainable alternative to the electric motor for the automotive future. For decades, there have been vehicles running on Europe's roads, that are better in ecological and economic terms than the e-car.
Vehicles powered by natural gas are technically mature, have no range problem and are standard equipment from major manufacturers. They are cheap to operate and only slightly more expensive to purchase than conventional cars. If the gas vehicles received the incentives and tax exemptions that EVs receive they would even be cheaper.
But the burning of natural gas instead of gasoline is only a marginal improvement in terms of CO2 reduction. Nevertheless, a study published in late 2018 on behalf of the Federal Office for the Environment (Bafu) concludes that "the total environmental impact (...) of the electric vehicle is slightly higher than the natural gas car."
How much better would this balance be if the cars were powered by CO2-neutral gas? There are real options, biomethane (or Renewable Natural Gas as it is called in North America) and also e-gas or "Power to Gas", provide a carbon neutral and sustainable possibility.
In this case, the CO2 necessary for the production of the methane gas is removed from the environment. The gas can be used for heating, cooking or operating a vehicle. Exactly the same amount of CO2 escapes from the exhaust as previously needed for the production of methane from the air.