How Green Are Electric Vehicles?

Written By Teacher: Meighan Hooper

Meighan has been an arts educator and instructional designer since 2007. Originally from Ontario, Canada, she began teaching internationally in the Middle East and Asia in 2013. Meighan has designed programs of study based on a variety of curriculum including Canadian, American standards-based, Primary Years Program (IB), and British National curriculum.

Teaching about electric vehicles (EVs) sparks curiosity because as they become more popular, everyone is questioning their true environmental impact. Begin by discussing with your students how EVs reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using electricity instead of gasoline, while also considering the environmental footprint from battery production and electricity generation. For a comprehensive exploration, consider the "Electric Vehicles Reading Comprehension" resource, which provides an article and questions to deepen understanding. Additionally, the "The Surprisingly Long History of Electric Cars" video offers historical context, helping students appreciate the evolution and environmental considerations of EVs. These resources facilitate a balanced discussion on the environmental impact of electric vehicles.

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a cleaner alternative to gasoline- or diesel-powered cars and trucks—both in terms of harmful air pollution, and the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.

Most cars and trucks use an “internal combustion engine” (ICE), powered by burning oil-based fuels. When burned, those fuels create climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants the vehicles release from their tailpipes.

Electric vehicles have neither engines nor tailpipes. Instead, they have batteries that power electric motors. It’s the same setup as a remote-controlled toy car, although a great deal of hard engineering has gone into making this work with a heavy, human-scaled vehicle that runs for hundreds of miles on a single charge.

Challenges to electric vehicle adoption

Cars and trucks produce a fifth of all climate pollution in the U.S. And because new cars normally stay on the road for 15 to 20 years, much of that pollution is already “locked in” into the 2040s. If electric vehicles are going to change the way we travel in time to meet our climate goals, people need to start choosing them over ICE cars today.