T&T's POINTLESS Electric Vehicle Revolution!

It is so easy to have missed the sudden increase of electric vehicles and electric hybrids now gracing the roads of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago is the most industrialized and urbanized of the Caribbean islands and has the highest motorization (per capita). T&T's air pollution is caused mostly by vehicles, power plants and energy based industries. One would say it makes sense to support the introduction of electric vehicles and hybrids as a way to significantly reduce global warming, right? Sorry to burst your bubble. In 2010, the transportation industry accounted for 14% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the world with the electricity and heat industry the largest contributor with 25% in that year. Electric vehicles (EVs) are not as environmentally friendly as one might think compared to the typical passenger vehicles operating on petrol or diesel.

Lithium mine in Australia

In order to fully understand how EVs can be dangerous to the environment in our economy, we need to consider the emissions during manufacturing, charging and the final disposal of the vehicle. During the manufacturing of an EV, 11.3 tonnes of CO2 is released whereas for a typical passenger vehicle it is 7.3 tonnes of CO2. This large difference in the CO2 levels for the manufacture of EVs compared to traditional vehicles comes from the making of batteries. Lithium must be mined and transported from far destinations to make these batteries. The mining of lithium requires large amounts of energy which produces large amounts of greenhouse gases.

T&T's power is generated by the burning of natural gas and this electricity is then used to charge the EVs. The more electric cars that require charging increases the amount of electricity that has to be generated at the power plants and therefore more natural gas will be burned, increasing the amount of CO2 produced. Some electric hybrid vehicles charge their batteries by the rotation of the tyres which is powered by petrol engines. A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This number can vary based on a vehicle’s fuel, fuel economy, and the number of miles driven per year. Research has shown that EVs over a 90,000 mile lifespan produces almost the same amount of CO2 as a typical gasoline vehicle over the same time considering both manufacturing and operational emissions.


EVs are popular around the world for a reason and this is because they do cut greenhouse gas emissions but only if the power used to charge them come from renewable energy sources. No CO2 is produced by solar panels or wind turbines and by charging EVs using these technologies we limit the air pollution to just what was required to manufacture the vehicle, as well as to dispose of it as the batteries can be recycled.

Electric vehicles in Trinidad and Tobago will only create more opportunities to produce a greater amount electricity from natural gas. In 2013, there were 500,000 registered vehicles in Trinidad and Tobago and has surely increased now in 2017. EVs will only reduce the air pollution around the cities where traffic is high but increase the pollution in the areas where power plants are situated.

Unless we integrate renewable energy sources into our electricity grid then we defeat the purpose of owning EVs. Owners of EVs in T&T reduce almost no CO2 emissions and cost taxpayers a lot of money. 

So what would you choose? Gasoline or electric?