Electric cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than diesel engines even when they are powered by the most carbon intensive energy, a new report has found. In Poland, which uses high volumes of coal, electric vehicles produced a quarter less emissions than diesels when put through a full lifecycle modeling study by Belgium’s VUB University. CO2 reductions on Europe’s cleanest grid in Sweden were a remarkable 85%, falling to around one half for countries such as the UK. The new study uses an EU estimate of Poland’s emissions — at 650gCO2/kWh — which is significantly lower than calculations by the European commission’s Joint Research Centre science wing last year.

The VUB study says that while the supply of critical metals — lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite — and rare earths would have to be closely monitored and diversified, it should not constrain the clean transport transition.

Electricity carbon intensity in European Member States: Impacts on GHG emissions of electric vehicles
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920916307933