Global EV adoption fails to cut CO₂ - study

The transition to electric vehicles won't reduce carbon emissions unless countries clean up their electricity grids.

This is according to a study by researchers from the University of Auckland and Xiamen University in China.

The researchers analysed the environmental impacts of human activity and used a robust statistical approach to investigate what drives a nation's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Using data from 26 countries over 15 years, they found a surprising trend: higher EV uptake was linked to increased CO₂ emissions. The reason? In a number of countries, EVs are still being powered by electricity generated through burning fossil fuels like coal or oil.