Switch to electric cars could help save planet
If half of drivers turned to EV it could protect 300,000 endangered species
Attitudes to saving the planet are changing with more motorists deciding to go electric as EV sales continue to grow. As we see the consequences of man’s actions on the planet, with the globe heating up and temperatures rising, it is increasingly important to find alternative ways to run vehicles.
New research by Citroen has revealed that, if just one per cent of motorists worldwide switched to electric vehicles, the reduction in carbon emissions could save more than 1,000 animal and plant species.
Citroen used endangered species data and compared it to CO2 metric ton data showing what would happen if one to 100 per cent of the world made the switch to electric.
Their findings revealed that such a small transition could actually save up to 1,300 endangered animal and plant species.
It further showed that, if 50 per cent of road vehicles were electric, then the number would jump to more than 60,000 species, with CO2 emissions reducing by nearly three billion tons.
And, if half of drivers drove electric vehicles, then it would save a staggering 300,000 endangered animals.
This is confirmed by IUCN’s Red List where we can see that if half of the world’s vehicles were run by electric means, it would save a third of a million species endangered as a result of CO2 emissions.
The switch could save as many as 50,000 Malleefowls or 3,000 Speartooth Sharks.
The impact could even be felt among smaller animal populations.
The Javan Rhino has a current population of just 18 in the world.
Half of these could be saved from endangerment with a 50 per cent global switch to electric.
Citroen’s research takes global vehicle count data and applies CO2 emissions data at multiple percentages (one to 100 per cent) to represent the reduction in vehicle pollution.
Taking species endangerment figures from The World Count and the IUCN Red List, Citroen applied these reductions to total animal and plant figures.
They also applied these percentages to endangered species that were categorised as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered while also being listed as threatened by pollution, climate change and severe weather.
Research comes courtesy of Citroen’s https://www.citroen. co.uk/about-citroen/news/carbattery-butterfly-effect.html research page.