Is Rowan Atkinson Wrong About EVs? Fact Check!

Comedian Rowan Atkinson shared his thoughts on electric vehicles (EVs) in a piece for the Guardian. He felt like he was lied to about their environmental benefits. Many people read his comments.

Atkinson says things that have already been proven wrong about climate change. People who don't want action on climate change often say these things.

He also recommends other options besides electric vehicles. These options are not commonly used yet and won't help the environment as much. They will also likely be more expensive.

Atkinson messed up by not seeing that electric cars are way better for the environment than regular cars.

EVs can't fix all car-related issues such as traffic and inactivity, but they're crucial for fighting climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made a new report about electric vehicles. They said that EVs have less greenhouse gas emissions than normal cars and they are good. Using electric vehicles can help save money. Even though electricity can be more expensive, electric cars are still cheaper to use than petrol cars in the UK.

The UK has a target to reduce greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050. This target is legally binding. EVs are necessary to meet this target. Globally, this is also true.

Atkinson's article is wrong. EVs reduce emissions if you look at the entire life cycle of a car. This includes getting oil or lithium for batteries and driving the car.

EVs emit 2/3 less greenhouse gases than cars with combustion engines in the UK. This info is from a few years ago. EVs continue to improve and have even more advantages.

Atkinson says Volvo figures are wrong about EV emissions being 70% higher. The details of the study are not true. The important thing is that producing batteries creates emissions. But, CO2 emissions from petrol and diesel cars are worse.

The UK government wants to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Atkinson thinks this idea is based on the car's exhaust pipe only. But he is wrong.

The government talks about life cycle emissions in its policy plans for cars. They commissioned research that shows EVs have a big emissions benefit. This benefit keeps growing over time.

The report agrees with Carbon Brief. Electric vehicles cut emission by 65%. This will increase to 76% in 2030. BEVs stands for Battery Electric Vehicles.

Atkinson thinks hydrogen is a good fuel option. Research shows that hydrogen vehicles don't reduce emissions by a lot - only 39% compared to petrol engines. This could maybe go up to 56% by 2030.

There are not many hydrogen cars – only 72,000 - compared to 1.5 billion gas cars. But there will be about 14 million electric cars sold this year. The numbers show electric cars are more popular.

Toyota, known for its focus on hydrogen cars, is now moving towards electric vehicles like the rest of the market.

Atkinson suggests hydrogen for trucks. He wrongly believes that electrification is not feasible because batteries are too heavy. However, last year, manufacturers sold 60,000 electric trucks and have 220 heavy-duty vehicle models available. This information is from the IEA. In the first quarter of this year, Volvo notes that European electric truck sales grew four times.

Auke Hoekstra from Eindhoven University of Technology said that electric trucks won't be much heavier than diesel ones. Additionally, they'll also be cheaper to own and operate.

Hydrogen vehicles and synthetic fuel have a big issue. They are both very inefficient and need lots of energy to go the same distance. Atkinson promotes synthetic fuel too.

NGO Transport and Environment say EVs go farther on less energy than hydrogen or synthetic fuels. This makes those alternatives more expensive to use.

Atkinson made some claims. I want to talk about them. They are important.

He claims that EV batteries last only around 10 years. However, Autocar reported that many modern lithium-ion batteries can last as long as the car itself. Tesla even designed their batteries to outlast the vehicle.

He says new cars are only used for three years before being sold, but he doesn't mention the used car market. People in Britain are now keeping their cars for a longer time.

He says it's better to keep old gas cars instead of getting EVs. But a new EV helps the climate in under 4 years, while old cars don't.

He says lithium-ion batteries have scarce earth elements, but they do not.

To end, Atkinson suggests waiting on electric vehicles (EVs). He believes they aren't really beneficial for the environment yet. One day they might be, but not yet.

The options he supports aren't popular yet. They're also not as good for the environment. These choices will cost a lot more.

EVs actually bring significant savings of emissions, which contradicts Atkinson's claim. It is important for EVs to have widespread usage if we want to achieve climate goals both in the UK and globally.