EVs Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, but They're Not Pollution-Free

A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warns that eliminating tailpipe emissions alone won't make vehicle travel pollution-free. Even after replacing gasoline vehicles with electric ones to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particulate matter (PM) resulting from tire, brake, clutch, and road wear remains a significant source of hazardous pollution. An article by Lloyd Alter shares insight into the report's conclusions.

Exposure to PM emissions can cause heart and lung damage, ranking as the seventh most important risk factor for mortality worldwide in 2015. With traffic concentrated in areas where the most people live and work, non-exhaust emissions pose a bigger health hazard than emissions from sources that are more isolated or highly regulated. While it's difficult to measure the exact toll of PM emissions on human health, the OECD estimates more than 4 million premature deaths a year resulting from the inhalation of toxic non-exhaust emissions, according to Alter.

While electric cars make a positive contribution to the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reducing harmful airborne pollutants requires fewer vehicles on the road. The report's recommendations include encouraging electric car manufacturers to produce lighter vehicles(putting less wear on the tires and thus less particulate matter into the air), disincentivizing the use of private vehicles through low-emission zones and congestion pricing programs, and promoting the use of alternate transportation modes.